Mount Isa
Mount Isa | |
|---|---|
   .jpg)   Top to bottom, left to right: Mount Isa panorama; Lake Moondarra; The Sign, Mount Isa Mines stack, Mount Isa City; Mount Isa at night | |
  Mount Isa | |
| Coordinates: 20°43′34″S 139°29′38″E / 20.7261°S 139.4938°E | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Queensland |
| LGA | |
| Location |
|
| Established | 1923 |
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Area | |
• Total | 68.7 km2 (26.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 356 m (1,168 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 18,317 (2021 census)[1] |
| • Density | 266.62/km2 (690.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) |
| Postcode | 4825 |
| Mean max temp | 31.9 °C (89.4 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 461.8 mm (18.18 in) |
Mount Isa (/ˈaɪzə/ EYE-zə) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4]
In the 2021 census, the town of Mount Isa had a population of 18,317 people,[1] 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[5] 19 kilometres (12 mi) 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".[6]
Geography
[edit]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,[when?] population increases associated with the mining boom has increased demand for accommodation and land.[citation needed] 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.[7]
- 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[8]
- 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
[edit]Long before European contact, the Mount Isa region was a centre for trade and production of dolerite and basalt[9] 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.[10] 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.[9][11] Leilira blades were also likely produced in the Mount Isa region, though dating is uncertain.[12]
Rock art is abundant in the region as well.[13] It largely consists of engraved petrographs and free-painted designs; stenciled designs are rare.[14] Rock art in the Mount Isa region varies stylistically site-by-site, and includes circular, geometric, and figurative motifs.[15] 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.[9]
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.[14]
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).[16]