Mount Isa
Population
22, 866 - 1996 CensusLocation
200 km to the Northern Territory Border along the Barkly Highway
904 km form Townsville
1829 km from Brisbane
General Information
Mount Isa, known affectionately by the locals as "The Isa", is the oasis of the Outback. Once a raw mining city, it is now a bustling commercial centre, the heart of the rugged expanse of North-West Queensland. Mount Isa is recognised as one of the world's largest local government areas, with almost 41,000sq km being included in the city's boundaries. Set on the banks of the Leichardt River, the city is a green oasis, with lovely gardens and parks striking a dramatic contrast to the surrounding rugged red landscape. The massive chimneys of the Mount Isa Mines (MIM) complex dominate the cityscape and reinforce the fact that Mount Isa owes its very existence to the rich ore bodies that the town is built on. The climate of The Isa is as dramatic as the landscape. Winters bring cool dry nights and 26-degree days, with vivid blue skies. Summer however brings erratic flooding rains and temperatures that soar into the forties, with nights remaining in the mid to high twenties. Life though is still pleasant as most of the town's facilities are air-conditioned allowing life to go on as usual.
Climate
During the summer months Mount Isa has two types of weather, Hot and Wet, and Hot and Dry. It is usually the latter. The Isa averages 9.5 hours of sunshine a day and the annual rainfall of 437 mm tumbles down in the 50 wet days a year. Summer night-time temperatures rarely fall below the mid-twenties, while the daytime temperatures climb regularly towards the forties. The winter dry season will usually find the skies painted a brilliant blue, accompanying daytime temperatures in the mid-twenties and mild nights averaging 12.5 oC.
History
The land around the present day city of Mount Isa was home to the Kalkadoon aboriginal tribe. The Kalkadoon tribe led a subsistence lifestyle on this land that the white settlers looked at as nothing but poor grazing land, with the odd mineral deposit. As settlers and prospectors pressed further into their lands the Kalkadoon tribe members set out on one of Australia's most successful guerrilla wars in a fight for their lands. Their success continued until at Battle Mountain in 1884, with what some historians have called call a rush of blood, the tribe attacked a fortified position in large numbers and suffered terrible losses. The weakened state of the tribe made their land more vulnerable to the settlers and soon much of the land was lost. Armed patrols chasing the surviving tribe members and poor grazing lands for the settlers made times hard in the area over the following decades.
The lone gold prospector John Campbell Miles stumbled upon one of the world's richest deposits of copper, silver and zinc upon during his 1923 expedition into the Northern Territory. While camping on the banks of the Leichardt River, Miles found the yellow-black rocks in a nearby outcrop reminded him of the ore found in the Broken Hill mine that he had once worked at. Upon inspection these rocks were weighty and heavily mineralised. A sample sent away to the assayer in Cloncurry confirmed that Miles had hit the jackpot. He and four farmers turned miners staked out the first claims in the area. Taken with friend stories of the Mount Ida gold mines in Western Australia, Miles decided upon Mount Isa as the name for his new claim.
The physical isolation, blistering temperatures and lack of access to supplies and water made the early years tough by any standard. This did not stop Miles and his partner Bill Simpson gouging some 45 tones of ore out of their lease before selling up to the newly formed Mount Isa Mines company in 1924. A lack of funds, poor ore grade, the isolation, and depressed prices saw the Mount Isa Mines (MIM) get off to a shaky start. It was men like W. H. Corbould whose belief in the mine, led to its ultimate greatness.
Like many outback towns Mt Isa built an airport before it built a railway station. QANTAS began commercial passenger services in 1922, with services to the Isa starting up in 1925 (Visit the History pages at the Qantas homepage for more information). The rail line arrived in 1929, opening markets and making mining more viable. In 1928 the medical isolation for the people of the district was reduced with the establishment of the Royal Flying Doctors Service in Cloncurry. This base along with the School of the Air that shared its facilities since 1960 was transferred to Mount Isa in 1965, where it has remained open ever since. The Mount Isa School of the Air caters for approximately 240 students from Preschool to Year 10 in an 800 000 square kilometre catchment area.
Like many outback towns Mt Isa built an airport before it built a railway station. QANTAS began commercial passenger services in 1922, with services to the Isa starting up in 1925 (Visit the History pages at the Qantas homepage for more information). The rail line arrived in 1929, opening markets and making mining more viable. In 1928 the medical isolation for the people of the district was reduced with the establishment of the Royal Flying Doctors Service in Cloncurry. This base along with the School of the Air that shared its facilities since 1960 was transferred to Mount Isa in 1965, where it has remained open ever since. The Mount Isa School of the Air caters for approximately 240 students from Preschool to Year 10 in an 800 000 square kilometre catchment area.
Useful Links
Fore more information please visit the Mount Isa City Council website.
See also:
Queensland Holidays
