 The Borough of Rockhampton was proclaimed as Queensland's fourth municipality (after Borough of Brisbane, Borough of Ipswich and Borough of Toowoomba) on 13 December 1860 under the "Municipalities Act 1858", a piece of New South Wales legislation inherited by Queensland when it became a separate colony in 1859.It held its first election on 26 February 1861 and its inaugural meeting on 1 March 1861.The municipality had an area of located on the south bank of the Fitzroy River and had a population of about 600.