Mount Isa is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia.
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 is one of the most productive single mines in world history, based on combined production of lead, silver, copper and zinc.With an estimated urban population of 18,588 as of June 2018, Mount Isa is the administrative, commercial and industrial centre for the state's vast north-western region.Population has decreased moderately at an average annual rate of -2.66% year-on-year over the five years to 2018. Although situated in an arid area, the artificial Lake Moondarra 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".Due to the lead production in the city, Mount Isa has one of the most intensive air quality monitoring systems in Australia. Concerns have been raised over childhood lead contamination and air pollution within the city. The Mount Isa Mines in particular are a source of significant lead pollution.
History
Mount Isa is located on the unceded land of the Kalkadoon people. The endemic language of the area was Kalkatunga.They 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 1972 Mount Isa made international headlines after a small group of crocodiles were reportedly found underground within the mine.The Mount Isa City Library opened in 1974.
Weather
Mount Isa experiences a hot semi-arid climate. The summer/wet season is very hot with highly variable rainfall and humidity owing to the erratic influence of the monsoon. This can be almost non-existent in years like 1985/1986, where as little as 83 millimetres (3.3 in) fell from December to March, or extremely intense as in 1973/1974 when 789 mm (31.1 in) of rain fell over the same period. A typical summer includes numerous hot windy days over 40 °C with clear skies and low humidity, a few weeks of 35-40 °C temperatures with higher humidity and spectacular thunderstorms and a few days with heavy monsoon rain and cooler conditions below 30 °C. Although Mount Isa lies within the tropics, its cool winter nights results in a temperature range similar to subtropical climates.
The winter or dry season is warm and almost completely rainless with median monthly rainfalls from April to September below 2 mm (0.08 in), though nights can be quite cool and about once every three years a minimum below 0 °C (32 °F) is recorded. On rare occasions winter rain-bearing systems may bring heavy rain for a day or two, such as in June 2007, when 111.8 mm (4.40 in) of rain was recorded; however, such occurrences happen only every 5 years or less. The lowest temperature recorded at Mount Isa is -2.9 °C (26.8 °F) on 7 July 1984 and the hottest is 45.9 °C (114.6 °F) on 29 January 1990. The wettest 24 hour period on record was 213.0 mm (8.39 in) on 15 January 2004.
Things to do
Attractions include the Hard Times Mine at "Outback at Isa" and The Mount Isa Rodeo and Mardi Gras has given Mount Isa the title of "Rodeo Capital of Australia". The occasion may well triple the city's population in these few days. A memorial has been made especially for the Rodeo, down Rodeo Drive; the sidewalks have special memorials embedded in the cement.
The burial place of John Campbell Miles, the founder of Mount Isa, is on the corner of Rodeo Drive and Miles Street. His ashes are buried underneath a large statue where each panel represents a significant part of Mount Isa. Miles' ashes used to be watched over by a large clock where the statue now stands.
The World War II-era Mount Isa Underground Hospital is an historical building that has been registered on the Register of the National Estate and the Queensland Heritage Register.It is an air-raid shelter which could function as a hospital.It was created as a precautionary measure after Darwin was bombed in 1942.Local miners excavated the site which remains today as the only underground health facility in Queensland which was built during World War II.The Glencore Mount Isa Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic is held annually, and after 2011 will also be followed by a Fishing, Camping and 4x4 Expo. The Fishing Classic is the richest fresh water fishing event in Queensland. Catching the tagged barramundi fetches the greatest prize money.