Mount Isa, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Culture and sport
The local theatre group, the Mount Isa Theatrical Society, or MITS, often holds plays and musicals, at least once every few months or so.Cricket, rugby league, rugby union, netball and tennis are the most common sports but shooting
Skeet shooting
Skeet shooting is one of the three major types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports . There are several types of skeet, including one with Olympic status , and many with only national recognition.- General principles :Skeet is a recreational and competitive activity where...
, dancing, hockey, squash, baseball and ten-pin bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
are also present. Mount Isa has a Go Kart Club situated off Duchess Road on the southern side of town.
Mount Isa also has a cinema complex, situated in the inner city on Rodeo Drive, that contains three air-conditioned cinemas, a skate park/aquatic centre and a multi-purpose sporting complex for basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and other indoor sports. Mount Isa's events complex, Buchanan Park, opened in May 2007, can hold up to 6,000 people and is used for special events such as concerts and expos. It is also the home of the city's annual show and rodeo.
In September 2008, plans were made to build a massive motor sports complex on the city's north-eastern outskirts. This complex was to include a drag-racing track, a BMX track and a mini-stadium that can seat 2,000 people.
The city is known for its annual rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
and Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
street parade every August. There is also an annual Multicultural Festival in early September.
On 11 September 2011, a group of Mt Isa residents rallied for gay rights and to condemn Bob Katter
Bob Katter
Robert Carl "Bob" Katter is an Australian federal politician, a member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993 for the Division of Kennedy, and the leader of Katter's Australian Party...
's comments that same-sex marriage should be "ridiculed". About 70 people attended the protest outside Katter's Mt Isa office.
Demographics
Mount Isa City (not including Camooweal) has an estimated population of 22,564 housed in approx. 9,050 dwellings, making the city the largest and most populous in Queensland's vast western interior, and one of the largest centres in outback Australia. The district population is 30,942 and incorporates the Cloncurry, Boulia, Burke, Carpentaria, Doomadgee, Flinders, Mornington and Richmond shires.The ratio of males to females living in Mount Isa is reputedly five to one. Mayor John Molony drew international press attention in August 2008 when he told the Townsville Bulletin newspaper that Mount Isa's gender imbalance made it a good place for "not so attractive" women to live. However, the most recent census found that men actually comprise only 52.6% of the population and that the five-to-one figure is an exaggeration.
Franchises such as McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
, Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, K-Mart
Kmart Australia
Kmart Australia Limited is a discount department store chain owned by Wesfarmers. It operates 172 stores in Australia and 15 in New Zealand, with its head office located in Mulgrave, Victoria. Wesfarmers uses the Kmart name under licence from Sears Holdings Corporation.-History:Kmart Australia...
, Best and Less
Best and Less
Best & Less Pty Ltd is an Australian retailer of clothing and household linens.-History:Best & Less was founded by Berel Ginges, and opened its first store in Mascot, New South Wales on 27 May 1965.In April 1998, Best & Less was acquired by Pepkor...
, Donut King
Donut King
Donut King is Australia's biggest doughnut franchise, based in Southport, Queensland.-History:The Donut King chain was founded in 1981 in Sydney, and is currently managed, under license, by the Southport-based Retail Food Group Limited...
, Coffee Club
Coffee Club
Uniting for Consensus is a movement, nicknamed the Coffee Club, that developed in the 1990s in opposition to the possible expansion of the United Nations Security Council...
, Blockbuster, Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based retailer of electrical, computer, furniture, entertainment and bedding goods. It is effectively a franchise and the main brand owned by Harvey Norman Holdings Limited...
, Bunnings, BCF and EB Games have established stores in Mount Isa, as well as many smaller locally owned businesses, many in the K-Mart shopping complex and Simpson Central Arcade in the Central Business District.
Suburbs
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 CBDCentral business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
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 has begun to spread out, with new suburbs in the south-east and north of the city being planned or developed. It is planned these expansions will cater for more than 40,000 people over the next 10 to 20 years.
Mineside
- Happy Valley io
- Kalkadoon - includes airport and Kalkadoon Park
- Mica Creek – includes Mica Creek Powerhouse
- Miles End - includes Mount Isa train station
- Parkside – Mount Isa's largest and oldest suburb. Contains the Irish Club.
- Soldiers Hill – All streets and parks named after war locations and soldiers, such as Kokoda Road and Gallipoli Park
Townside
- Breakaway - Semi-rural acreages
- Fisher
- Healy
- Healy Heights- The Newest Suburb of Mount Isa. Development is continuing.
- Lanskey
- Menzies – includes Buchanan Park events complex.
- Mornington
- Mount Isa City – includes main shopping centre and eateries
- Mount Isa East – has own post office and smaller shopping centres
- Pioneer – includes TAFE campus, Spinifex Senior Campus and Ten-Pin Bowling complex
- Ryan – mostly industrial, includes army and State Emergency ServiceState Emergency ServiceA State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
barracks - Spreadborough - mostly bushland and light industry. The notable Spreadborough family still resides in the area.
- Sunset - multi-purpose centre
- The Gap
- Townview
- Winston
Transport
Mount Isa city and surrounds are serviced by a 35 vehicle taxiTaxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
service. A taxi service known as "Isa-Curry" express transports passengers to and from the neighbouring centre of Cloncurry
Cloncurry, Queensland
-Notable residents:*Writer Alexis Wright grew up in Cloncurry.*Association Footballer Kasey Wehrman was born in Cloncurry . He went on to play domestically and in Scandinavia. His achievements include winning a NSL Championship in 1996-1997 with the Brisbane Strikers and being capped several times...
to Mount Isa and back again, usually for shopping and medical requirements. Additionally, many of the city's clubs have courtesy buses to and from their establishments that run seven days a week and into the early hours of the morning. Greyhound Australia
Greyhound Australia
Greyhound Australia is the largest long distance bus operator in Australia, operating in all mainland states and territories. It is owned by the Chapman Group and ANZ....
has a depot in Mount Isa, with coach services to and from Townsville, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
and Tennant Creek.
The city is served by QR
Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail, also known as QR, is a government-owned railway operator in the state of Queensland. Under the control of the Queensland Government, Queensland Rail operates the inner-city and long-distance passenger services, as well as some freight operations and gives railway access to other...
passenger train The Inlander, which travels overnight to Townsville twice a week in each direction.
Mount Isa Airport
Mount Isa Airport
Mount Isa Airport is an airport serving the western Queensland city of Mount Isa, Australia. It is served by a variety of scheduled regional airlines, with flights to Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns as well as several other regional centres....
has regular daily services to Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville, as well as once-weekly services to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
and the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, in addition to other services to remote Outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
communities in western Queensland. The primary carriers which service Mount Isa and district are Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
/QantasLink
QantasLink
QantasLink is a regional brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is a major competitor to Regional Express Airlines, Virgin Australia and Skywest Airlines. As of September 2010 QantasLink provides 1900 flights each week to 54 domestic and...
- Brisbane and Townsville; AirNorth - Darwin and Gold Coast; Regional Express - Townsville. In November 2009, it was announced that Skytrans and Westwing Aviation will commence flights in and out of Mount Isa to and from cities on the coast, commencing in February 2010. Regional Express (REX) also announced flights between Mount Isa and Townsville starting after December2009.
Education
Mount Isa has eight public primary schools and three private primary schools:- Happy Valley State School
- Healy State School
- Townview State School
- Barkly Highway State School
- Central State School
- Sunset State School
- Mount Isa School of Distance Education
- Mount Isa Special School
- St Kieren's (private)
- St Josephs (private)
And three high schools:
- Good Shepherd Catholic College (private)
- Mount Isa School of Distance Education (to grade 10)
- Spinifex State CollegeSpinifex State CollegeSpinifex State College is an 8-12 high school, located in Mount Isa, in north west Queensland, Australia. It first opened in 2003.-History:Prior to 2003 Mount Isa was serviced by two state secondary schools...
- Three campuses, Junior from grade 8 to grade 10, Senior from grade 11 to grade 12, and Residential; for students who don't have a high-school in their region and need to leave their place of residence to access years 8-12.
The residential campus of Spinifex College is unique in the fact that it is the only State-run boarding-type school in Queensland and it caters to all the outlying towns and cattle-properties as far away as the gulf. Mount Isa is also home to the School of the Air
School of the Air
School of the Air is a generic term for correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote and outback Australia.-History:...
, a unique-to-Australia way of schooling isolated students in Australia's vast lightly populated country areas. The city also holds the main campus of the Mount Isa Institute of TAFE, offering courses in a wide range of fields, including mining, agriculture and trades. In addition, James Cook University
James Cook University
James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...
has a presence, with the Mount Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health in the Base Hospital complex.
Radio
The following radio stations are available in the Mount Isa region:- AM 666 Zinc (commercial)
- FM 100.9 Mob FM (commercial-70% country)
- FM 101.7 ABC Classic FM
- FM 102.5 Hot FM (commercial)
- FM 103.3 4TAB (horse racing)
- FM 104.1 ABC Triple J
- FM 104.9 ABC News Radio
- FM 105.7 Radio Rhema (religious)
- FM 106.5 ABC Local Radio
- FM 107.1 ABC Radio National
Television
Five broadcast television services operate in Mount Isa — commercial stations Imparja TelevisionImparja Television
Imparja Television is an Australian television network servicing remote eastern and central Australia, that began broadcasting on 2 January 1988. It is based in Alice Springs, where it has a studio and satellite uplink facility. Notably, it is controlled by Australian Aborigines through ownership...
and Southern Cross7 (formerly known as ITQ
QQQ
QQQ is an Australian television station broadcasting in remote eastern, southern and central areas of Australia.QQQ may also refer to:* QQQ , a fictional character in the F-Zero video game series...
Channel 8, QQQ
QQQ
QQQ is an Australian television station broadcasting in remote eastern, southern and central areas of Australia.QQQ may also refer to:* QQQ , a fictional character in the F-Zero video game series...
, QTV
QTV
QTV of the Apollo Little Joe II rocket was the first test flight in 1963.-Objectives:The Little Joe II Qualification Test Vehicle was launched on its first flight from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Area # 3...
and QSTV- Queensland Satellite Television), and the Government-owned ABC and SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
. Imparja has a programming affiliation agreement with the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
. Aboriginal focused channel NITV (National Indigenous Television) broadcasts on UHF Channel 35.
Digital Television transmissions have commenced in Mount Isa. New channels provided by the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
can be received with a digital set top box or digital television. Additional channels from the commercial broadcasters that are available in most other areas of Australia are expected to commence transmission in 2011-2012. Analogue television transmissions will be switched off by 31 December 2013.
The station is broadcast, on relay to ABC & SBS, the Nine Network programming, indigenous & locally produced programming on Imparja and the programming from the Seven Network as well as Network Ten's AFL & netball coverage on Southern Cross7.
Newspapers
- The North West Star – printed daily Monday to Friday
- The Courier-MailThe Courier-MailThe Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Limited, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's...
– Monday to Saturday - The Sunday MailThe Sunday Mail (Brisbane)The Sunday Mail is Brisbane's only Sunday newspaper. The Sunday Mail is published in tabloid format, comprising several sections that can be extracted and read separately.-Publishing:...
– Sunday - Townsville Bulletin – Monday to Saturday with a Mount Isa version printed on Saturdays
Notable people
- Simon BlackSimon BlackSimon Black is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.Black is a midfielder with a reputation for hard work and skill...
, Australian rules footballAustralian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er - Lindy ChamberlainLindy ChamberlainAlice Lynne Chamberlain-Creighton was at the centre of one of Australia's most publicised murder trials, in which she was convicted of killing her baby daughter, Azaria. The conviction was later overturned.-Early life:...
, mother in the infamous 'Dingo-Baby Case.' - Altiyan ChildsAltiyan ChildsAltiyan Juric , best known by his stage name Altiyan Childs, is an Australian singer-songwriter. He was the winner of the second season of The X Factor Australia in 2010. After X Factor ended, Childs subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia...
, winner of the second season of The X FactorThe X Factor (Australia season 2)The X Factor is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent. The 2010 season premiered on 30 August 2010 and was won by Altiyan Childs on 22 November 2010. Ronan Keating emerged as the winning mentor of the series...
, was born here. - Richard De Chazal, international fashion designer and photographer
- Gerard DentonGerard DentonGerard John Denton is an Australian first-class cricketer who plays for the Tasmanian Tigers. The right-arm fast-medium bowler began his first-class cricket for the Tasmanian Tigers, despite having been born in Queensland...
, cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er - Nathan Fien, rugby league player
- Jamie GoddardJamie GoddardJamie Goddard is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played club football for the Gold Coast Seagulls/Chargers, the North Sydney Bears and the Northern Eagles...
, rugby league player - Pat MackiePat MackiePat Mackie was a New Zealand miner and unionist, who gained national attention as the leader of the Mount Isa Mines Strike of 1964.-Early life:...
, union leader (1964/5 dispute) - Simmone Jade MackinnonSimmone Jade MackinnonSimone Jade Mackinnon is an Australian actress.-Early life:Mackinnon was born Simone Jade Mackinnon in Mount Isa, Queensland in 1973 to Ian and Annette Mackinnon. She has a brother and a sister, Robbie and Kym. She and her family later uprooted to Coffs Harbour in New South Wales...
, actress - Deborah MailmanDeborah MailmanDeborah Mailman , is an Australian television and film actress. She was the first Aboriginal actress to win the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role...
, actress - Darren Mark Bertoni, wrestler
- Gene MilesGene MilesGene Miles is a retired Australian rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative centre, he played his club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership before joining the Brisbane Broncos whom he captained.-BRL:A...
, rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player - James Newburrie, gay rights activist and IT security specialist
- Greg NormanGreg NormanGregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
, golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er - Scott PrinceScott PrinceScott Prince is an Australian professional rugby league footballer and current captain of the Gold Coast Titans club of the National Rugby League...
, rugby league player - Pat Rafter, tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player - Bill SweetenhamBill SweetenhamBill Sweetenham is a competitive swimming coach. He was the National Performance Director for British Swimming until 2007, having previously been the National Youth Coach for Swimming Australia.Sweetenham has worked directly with more than 40 Olympians....
, Olympic swimming coach - Carl WebbCarl WebbCarl Webb , is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer for the Parramatta Eels of the National Rugby League. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys...
, rugby league player - John WhiteJohn White (squash player)John White is a former World No. 1 squash player.White finished runner-up at both the World Open and the British Open in 2002. He won the PSA Masters title in 2003 . He also won the British National Championships in 2004...
, squashSquash (sport)Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
player