 The surrounding rural area, which was given the name Thuringowa Division, was established on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the "Divisional Boards Act 1879".On 31 March 1903, Thuringowa Division became the Shire of Thuringowa and Townsville was granted city status under the "Local Authorities Act 1902", the ancestor of the current "Local Government Act 1993".The borders of the Townsville municipality were expanded to keep pace with urban growth in 1882, 1918, 1936, 1958 and 1964 – the purpose of expanding the borders was to keep urban and rural administrations separate.