The Southern Downs Region is a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, along the state's boundary with New South Wales. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Warwick and the Shire of Stanthorpe.

It has an estimated operating budget of A$22.8 million.

In the 2021 census, the Southern Downs Region had a population of 36,290 people.

History

The majority of the former Warwick Shire is home to the Githabul people who have lived around this area for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans in the early 1840s.

The current area of the Southern Downs Region existed as two distinct local government areas:

• the Shire of Warwick; which in turn consisted of four previous local government areas:
  • the City of Warwick;
  • the Shire of Allora;
  • the Shire of Glengallan;
  • the Shire of Rosenthal;
• and the Shire of Stanthorpe.

The City of Warwick came into being as the Warwick Municipality on 25 May 1861 under the Municipalities Act 1858, a piece of New South Wales legislation inherited by Queensland at its separation two years earlier. On 21 July 1869, the Municipality of Allora was established under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864.

On 11 November 1879, the Clifton, Glengallan and Stanthorpe Divisions were created as three of 74 divisions within Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. In 1886, Rosenthal was created out of parts of Glengallan.

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Warwick and Allora became Towns and the four Divisions became Shires. On 23 January 1915 the Town of Allora was abolished and a new Shire of Allora was created from the southern part of the Shire of Clifton.

On 4 April 1936, Warwick was proclaimed a city.

On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Warwick area be rationalised. The Local Government (Allora, Glengallan, Rosenthal and Warwick) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 20 May 1994. On 25 June, an election was held for the new Shire of Warwick, and on 1 July 1994, the original entities passed out of existence. Stanthorpe was unaffected by these changes.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Warwick and Stanthorpe amalgamate. It noted that Warwick was the regional centre for the region, with the maximum travelling time between Warwick and any other town being one hour. Both councils opposed the amalgamation citing cultural differences and different river catchment areas and economic drivers. On 15 March 2008, the two Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect eight councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Wards

The council remains undivided and its elected body consists of eight councillors and a mayor, elected for a four-year term.

Mayors

• 2008–2012 : Ron Bellingham
• 2012–2016: Peter Blundell
• 2016–2020: Tracy Dobie
• 2020–2024: Victor Frank Pennisi
• 2024–Present: Melissa Jane Hamilton

Towns and localities

The Southern Downs Region includes the following settlements:

Warwick region

- not to be confused with Willow Vale, Queensland

Stanthorpe region

• Stanthorpe
• Amiens
• Applethorpe
• Ballandean
• Broadwater
• Cottonvale
• Dalcouth
• Diamondvale
• Eukey
• Glen Aplin
• Greenlands
• Kyoomba
• Lyra
• Messines
• Mingoola
• Nundubbermere
• Passchendaele
• Pikedale
• Pikes Creek
• Pozieres
• Severnlea
• Somme
• The Summit
• Thorndale
• Wallangarra
• Wyberba

Libraries

The Southern Downs Regional Council operates public libraries at Allora, Stanthorpe, and Warwick. It also operates a mobile library servicing Dalveen, Karara, Killarney, Leyburn, Maryvale, Pratten, Wheatvale and Yangan.

Demographics

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The 2011 census was the first for the Southern Downs Region.

Year	Population (Region total)	Population (Stanthorpe)	Population (Warwick)	Population (Allora)	Population (Glengallan)	Population (Rosenthal)	Notes
1933	25,016	6,934	6,664	2,624	6,334	2,460
1947	24,009	7,419	7,129	2,217	5,269	1,975
1954	25,862	8,335	9,151	2,106	4,639	1,631
1961	26,288	8,514	9,843	1,961	4,388	1,582
1966	25,917	8,503	10,065	1,890	3,906	1,553
1971	24,115	8,189	9,303	1,719	3,410	1,494
1976	24,583	8,709	9,169	1,666	3,491	1,548
1981	24,300	8,576	8,853	1,679	3,611	1,581
1986	26,270	9,143	9,435	2,041	3,688	1,963
1991	28,288	9,556	10,393	2,132	3,966	2,241
1996	29,563	9,596	10,896	2,234	3,990	2,742
2001	30,554	9,860	10,956	2,439	4,088	3,129
2006	31,385	9,968	11,143	2,437	4,169	3,558
2011 census	33,883
2016 census	35,110
2021 census	36,290