The City of Mount Isa is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in north west

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. The City covers the urban locality of

Mount Isa 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 single mines in world history, bas ...

, the administrative centre, and surrounding area, sharing a boundary with the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

to the west. Mount Isa is a reasonably affluent district. The largest industry in the city is the

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

, a source of lead, copper, silver and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

. Cattle grazing and tourism are other industries of note.

History

The city was inhabited by the Kalkadoon and Indjilandji people, whose livelihood depended on hunting and gathering, fishing and trade for several thousands of years, before the European settlers arrived here. The Kalkadoon craftsmen were known for their stone implements and handmade tools which were traded with other Aboriginal groups spread all over the western Queensland. Kalkatunga (also known as Kalkadoon, Kalkadunga, Kalkatungu) is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

. The Kalkatunga language region is North-West Queensland including the local government areas of the City of Mount Isa. On 10 February 1914, the

Shire of Barclay Tableland Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

, based in

Camooweal Camooweal is an outback town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. In the , the locality of Camooweal had a population of 208 people. Geography The l ...

, was incorporated on an area previously managed by the shires of

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

and

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as ...

. On 14 August 1919 the spelling was changed and it became known as Shire of Barkly Tableland. As a consequence of the growth of

as a mining and population centre within the shire, an Order in Council dated 15 December 1962 renamed the shire to

Shire of Mount Isa Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

, effective 1 July 1963, and its administration centre relocated to Mount Isa. At the same time it gained part of the Shire of Cloncurry. On 30 May 1968, the shire was proclaimed as a City due to the area reaching a population of 18,000.

Towns and localities

The City of Mount Isa includes the following settlements:

Suburbs of the town of Mount Isa

Mineside Mount Isa: * Happy Valley * Kalkadoon * Mica Creek * Miles End * Parkside * Soldiers Hill Townside Mount Isa: * Breakaway *

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

* Healy * Lanskey *

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

* Mornington * Mount Isa City *

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

* Ryan * Spreadborough *

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

The Gap The Gap may refer to: Places Australia * The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales * The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory * The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland ...

* Townview * Winston

Rural areas outside the town

* Mount Isa (locality) * Barkly *

Gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

* Lawn Hill

Amenities

The Mount Isa City Council operate a public library at Mount Isa City.

Chairmen and mayors

* 1927: John Thomson Campbell * 1968 – 1969: George McCoy * 1969 – 1973: Bill Weigh * 1973 – 1975: Angelo Bertoni * 1975 – 1985: Franz Born * 1985 – 1989: Tony McGrady * 1989 – 2008: Ron McCuollough * 2008 – 2012: John Molony * 2012 – 2016: Tony McGrady * 2016 – 2020: Joyce McCullough * 2020 – present: Danielle Dee Slade

Sister cities

Sister cities of Mount Isa include: *

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...

, Sydney, New South Wales

Population

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Isa Populated places established in 1914 Local government areas of Queensland North West Queensland Mount Isa 1914 establishments in Australia