Somerset Regional Council was formed on 15 March 2008 following an amalgamation of the Councils of Esk Shire and Kilcoy Shire.

SRC has a Mayor and six Councillors, each is elected by their constituents and serve a four-year term.

Please visit our Councillor Profiles page for more information about our current Mayor and Councillors.

This regional local government is an hour west of Brisbane and is the fastest growing local government area in south east Queensland. It has strong agricultural, environmental, heritage and tourism values. It contains important vegetation and forest, areas of high scenic and landscape amenity and significantly, the key water catchments for southeast Queensland.

The Somerset region has an area of 5382 sq km and includes five major townships, Esk, Fernvale, Kilcoy, Lowood and Toogoolawah. The region is home to approximately 25,000 people and is expected to grow to an estimated 34,500 by 2031.

Somerset's neighbouring local governments are Lockyer Valley, Ipswich City, Brisbane City, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Gympie, South Burnett and Toowoomba.

Somerset Regional Council’s logo represents the region's two major dams, with the larger body of water representing Wivenhoe and the smaller body being Somerset. The overall shape of the icon with the water flowing from Somerset to Wivenhoe creates the shape of a clear "S", which uniquely identifies this water graphic to be that of Somerset Regional Council.

The previous Esk and Kilcoy Shire Councils had adopted floral and faunal emblems. The continued use of these emblems is symbolic, given that none of these emblems are reflected in the logo. On 19 December 2008 Council adopted the following emblems:

Floral:

• Weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis)
• Native frangipani (Hymenosporum flavum)

Fauna:

• Red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Deer were first introduced into Queensland in September 1873 when two stags and four hinds were released at Scrub Creek, Cressbrook Station. These deer were from Windsor Great Park and were a gift from Queen Victoria to the Acclimatisation Society of Queensland. Today, the descendants of the original release are well entrenched in the ranges of the Brisbane and Mary Valleys.

Somerset Regional Council covers the largest land area of all south east Queensland Councils and currently has the smallest rate base. In spite of the challenges, the region continues to develop in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable manner and will continue to attract new residents because of the community, lifestyle and amenity on offer.

Mayors

 

Graeme Lehmann

2008 - 2024

Graeme was born and raised in the Somerset region and has always called this his home. He lives with his wife Judy at Tarampa and together they have three daughters.

Graeme is passionate about representing the interests of the community and first became a Councillor in 1994. A decade after being in local government, Graeme was elected Mayor of the region. He has proudly served in local government for almost two decades.

Councillors