Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on combined production of lead, silver, copper and zinc.
Before European contact, the Mount Isa region was part of an expansive trade network spanning the entire Lake Eyre Basin and beyond. In particular, it was a valued source of stone for stone tools such as hand axes.Davidson, Iain; Cook, Nick; Fischer, Matthew; Ridges, Malcolm; Ross, June; Sutton, Stephen (2005). "Archaeology in Another Country: Exchange and Symbols in North-West Central Queensland" (PDF). In Macfarlane, Ingereth; Mountain, Mary-Jane; Paton, Robert (eds.). Many Exchanges: Archaeology, History, Community and the Work of Isabel McBryde. Canberra: Aboriginal History Inc. pp. 101–128.
In the , the town of Mount Isa had a population of 18,317 people, making Mount Isa the administrative, commercial and industrial centre for the state's vast north-western region. Although situated in an arid area, the artificial Lake Moondarra north of the city on the Leichhardt River provides both drinking water and an area for watersports, birdwatching and recreation. Locals often refer to Mount Isa as "The Isa".
Geography The Leichhardt River divides the city into areas known as "mineside" and "townside". Xstrata, the power station and the Airport are on the mineside, whilst the majority of the city, including the CBD and Base Hospital are on the townside. In recent years, population increases associated with the mining boom has increased demand for accommodation and land. The city had spread out, with new suburbs in the south-east and north of the city being planned or developed. Planned expansions can cater for more than 40,000 people.http://www.northweststar.com.au/news/local/news/general/people-have-nowhere-to-live/329190.aspx
Mineside Happy Valley – includes Happy Valley State School, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, and Captain James Cook Park Kalkadoon – includes Mount Isa Airport and Kalkadoon Park Mica Creek – includes CS Energy Mica Creek Power Station Miles End – includes Mount Isa Civic Centre and railway station Parkside – Mount Isa's largest and oldest suburb. Contains the Irish Club, Parkside Flats complex, and Playway Park Soldiers Hill – All streets and parks named after war locations and soldiers, such as Kokoda Road and Gallipoli Park Hilton – This neighbourhood is also known as Mineside and is to the west of the railway line as is Mount Isa Mines and the Incitec Pivot Sulphuric Acid plant. It contains some employee housing, particularly for managers and visiting staff from Xstrata, Casa Grande; a white brick mansion built for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II; now used for the annual Casa Grande Ball, and some mine operations.
Townside Breakaway – Semi-rural acreages Fisher Healy – Residential suburb, site of Healy State School Lanskey Menzies – includes Buchanan Park events complex, Stables and Racecourse, site of Good Shepherd Catholic College Mornington Mount Isa City – The Central Business District, site of Mount Isa Central State School Pioneer – includes a campus of TAFE Queensland North, Spinifex Senior Campus and Ten-Pin Bowling complex, St Kierans Catholic Primary School Ryan – mostly industrial, includes army and State Emergency Service barracks, home to one company of the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment Spreadborough – mostly bushland and light industry. The notable Spreadborough family still resides in the area. Sunset – Home to Sunset State Primary School, and some shopping facilities The Gap Townview – Home to Townview State Primary School Winston
History Long before European contact, the Mount Isa region was a centre for trade and production of dolerite and basaltDavidson, Iain; Cook, Nick; Fischer, Matthew; Ridges, Malcolm; Ross, June; Sutton, Stephen (2005). "Archaeology in Another Country: Exchange and Symbols in North-West Central Queensland" (PDF). In Macfarlane, Ingereth; Mountain, Mary-Jane; Paton, Robert (eds.). Many Exchanges: Archaeology, History, Community and the Work of Isabel McBryde. Canberra: Aboriginal History Inc. pp. 101–128. . stone tools and objects. There is evidence of ground-edge stone tools as old as 20,000 years, the earliest in the world, originating from Mount Isa quarries. As of about 1000 years before the present (BP), large, ground-edge stone axes from Mount Isa were particularly prized by the peoples of the Lake Eyre Basin. They were not only valuable tools, but valuable trade items as well, and were often traded for the tobacco plant pituri.Tibbett, Kevin (2002). "Archaeological Analysis of Stone Axe Exchange Networks in the Lake Eyre Basin During the Mid-to Late Holocene". Australian Archaeology (55): 22–29. Archaeologist Iain Davidson suggests that they were traded partly for reasons unrelated to function, as they were often sought after despite the availability of local resources.Davidson, Iain (2008), "Ethnological Studies and Archaeology of North West Central Queensland", The Roth Family, Anthropology, and Colonial Administration, Routledge, , , retrieved 2024-06-01 Leilira blades were also likely produced in the Mount Isa region, though dating is uncertain.Tibbett, Kevin (June 2006). "When East Is Northwest: Expanding the Archaeological Boundary for Leilira Blade Production". Australian Archaeology. 62 (1): 26–30. . .
Rock art is abundant in the region as well.Isaacson, Ken (2016-06-16). "Archaeological Reflections of a 68-Year-Old Bushman". In Nicholas, George (ed.). Being and Becoming Indigenous Archaeologists. New York: Routledge. pp. 139–145. . . It largely consists of engraved petrographs and free-painted designs; stenciled designs are rare.Wade, Victoria; Wallis, Lynley A.; Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation (June 2011). "Style, Space And Social Interaction: An Archaeological Investigation of Rock Art in Inland North Queensland, Australia". Australian Archaeology. 72 (1): 23–34. . . Rock art in the Mount Isa region varies stylistically site-by-site, and includes circular, geometric, and figurative motifs.Bednarik, R. G. (2010). Australian Rock Art of the Pleistocene. Rock Art Research, 27(1), 95–120. https://rockartresearch.com/index.php/rock/article/download/51/48 One figurative motif particular to the Mount Isa region is the north-west central Queensland anthropomorph figure. They are usually painted one color with an outline in a different color (often red and yellow, respectively) and have distinctive feathered headdresses, no face, and often a third leg which is variously interpreted as either a penis or a lizard's tail. These figures are found near reliable water sources, and may have been used to mark trade and travel paths between regions. Analysis indicates that the ochres used for the paint originate over 100km southeast of Mount Isa. Davidson suggests that, like the Mount Isa stone axes, the ochre was valued for cultural reasons in addition to functional, economic reasons. This, combined with dating marking the anthropomorphs and stone axes as contemporaneous at about 1000 BP, suggests that they were all intertwined components of an extensive trade network stretching across the entire Lake Eyre Basin.
Some rock art depicting figures and hands in the Mount Isa region, including some of the north-west central Queensland anthropomorphs, have only three fingers. The reason is unclear, but it may have a connection to the later observed common practice among Kalkadoon women of amputation of the little finger. Though Mount Isa was a centre for trade, fundamental stylistic differences suggest that there was little to no artistic exchange between the Mount Isa region and surrounding regions, aside from the anthropomorphs.
Mount Isa is located on the traditional land of the Kalkadoon people. The endemic language of the area was Kalkatunga (also known as Kalkadoon, Kalkadunga, Kalkatungu).
The Kalkadoon people first came into contact with advancing European pastoralists and miners in the mid 1860s, following the Burke and Wills expedition to the Cape York Peninsula in 1861. As settlers and prospectors pressed further into their lands the Kalkadoon set out on one of Australia's most successful guerrilla wars, now known as the Kalkadoon Wars which took place from about 1871 to 1884. Their success continued until at Battle Mountain in 1884, when Kalkadoon people killed five Native Police and a prominent pastoralist. Only 29 Kalkadoon people survived. In response, the Queensland Government sending a large contingent of heavily armed patrols who chased surviving tribe members. It is estimated that 900 Kalkadoon people were killed during this six-year campaign. There is now a memorial near the site of the Black Mountain.
In 1923, a lone prospector, John Campbell Miles, stumbled upon one of the world's richest deposits of copper, silver and zinc during an expedition into the Northern Territory. When Miles inspected the yellow-black rocks in a nearby outcrop, they 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 their value. Miles and four farmers staked out the first claims in the area. Taken with friend's stories of the Mount Ida gold mines in Western Australia, Miles decided upon Mount Isa as the name for his new claim.Mount Isa Post Office opened on 1 August 1924.A location for the town's hospital was chosen in 1929, with a small building completed the following year. In 1931, a larger structure was moved to the site from the closed mining town of Kuridala.In 1970, Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne toured Australia including Queensland. The Queensland tour began on Sunday 12 April when the royal yacht Britannia entered Moreton Bay at Caloundra, sailing into Newstead Wharf. After visiting Brisbane and Longreach next on the tour was Mount Isa and while there the royals were driven to Kalkadoon Park where the royal couple witnessed a programmed event under the guidance of Ringmaster Mr. J. O’Shea. Kalkadoon Park was the original site of the famous Mount Isa rodeo. The following day, on 16 April, the Duke of Edinburgh was taken on an underground tour of the Mount Isa mine while Queen Elizabeth stayed above ground. The Marshalling Area around R62 Shaft Winder Tower was cleaned, and a display was set up using operational mining equipment from underground so Queen Elizabeth II could see it in action. The display was designed to demonstrate the operation of an EIMCO air powered rail mounted rocker shovel loading ore.The Mount Isa City Library opened in 1974.
On 9 June 2000, the first torch relay in Queensland for the Sydney 2000 Olympics reached Mount Isa.
In 2008, plans were made to build a massive motor sports complex on the city's north-eastern outskirts, but as of 2024 it had not been built.
In 2008, a Queensland Health report found that more than 10% of children in Mount Isa had blood lead levels above World Health Organization recommendations. The mining operator Glencore denied responsibility and stated that the town has naturally high levels of lead in the soil. However, a 2013 study led by Macquarie University environmental engineers has used lead isotope analysis to show conclusively that the lead ingested had originated from smelted ore and not surface deposits.
In 2015, Mt Isa formed its own Symphony Orchestra, acclaimed as the "most remote in the world". Inaugurated on 23 July 2015, the event attracted several stars of the music world, including world-famous jazz musician James Morrison. Morrison also figured in the premiere of Matthew Dewey's 'Symphony of the Inland Sea', composed for the occasion.