Pioneer is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

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 ...

in the

City of Mount Isa The City of Mount Isa is a local government area in north west Queensland. The City covers the urban locality of Mount Isa, the administrative centre, and surrounding area, sharing a boundary with the Northern Territory to the west. Mount Isa ...

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_ ...

, Australia. In the , Pioneer had a population of 2,176 people.

Geography

The

Leichhardt River The Leichhardt River is a river in north west Queensland, Australia. Course The source of the river is in the Selwyn Range under Rifle Creek Hill and fed by Rifle Creek approximately south of the mining town Mount Isa. It runs in a generally n ...

flows north-south through the town of Mount Isa, dividing the suburbs of the town into "mineside" (west of the Leichhardt River) and "townside" (east of the Leichhardt River). Pioneer is a "townside" suburb.

History

The suburb is called Pioneer because many European pioneer names are used as street names in the area. Kalkadoon State High School opened on 2 February 1953. It closed on 31 December 2002. In 2003 it amalgamated with Mount Isa State High School to create

Spinifex State College Spinifex State College is a public, co-educational, day and boarding school located in Mount Isa, Queensland. It first opened in 2003. History Prior to 2003 Mount Isa was serviced by two state secondary schools. Mount Isa State High School a ...

with two campuses, a junior campus (7-9) at the former Mount Isa State High School (in Parkside) and a senior campus (10-12) at the former Kalkadoon State High School. Kalkadoon State High School's website has been archived. Mount Isa School of the Air opened on 22 June 1964. Mount Isa Special School opened on 29 January 1973. St Kieran’s Christian Brothers College opened on 25 January 1960 in

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 ...

with an initial enrolment of 132 boys in Years 4 to 7 with Brother Tom Higgins as the first principal. By 1967 the school had an enrolment of over 300 boys in Years 4 to 10. Increasing enrolments put pressure on the classroom space and in 1970 the school ceased to offer Year 4 (as that was available at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School at Parkside). The school closed on 7 December 1984 as part of a rationalisation and amalgamation of the various Catholic schools in Mount Isa, resulting in St Kierans opening as a new primary school on 4 February 1985 in Pioneer. At the , Pioneer had a population of 2,621. In the , Pioneer had a population of 2,176 people.

Education

St Kieran's Catholic School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Short Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 150 students with 15 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 12 non-teaching staff (6 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 146 students with 13 teachers (11 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). Mount Isa Special School is a special-education government primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at 116 Marian Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 27 students with 9 teachers (8 full-time equivalent) and 11 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 33 students with 9 teachers (8 full-time equivalent) and 11 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). Mount Isa School of the Air is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls at 137-143 Abel Smith Parade (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 153 students with 26 teachers (25 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (9 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 154 students with 24 teachers (23 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent). It provides

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

to students living in remote outback locations extending north to the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

, south to

Birdsville Birdsville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Birdsville had a population of 110 people. It is a popular tourist destination with many people using it as a starting point acro ...

, east to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and west to 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 ...

is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 817 students with 77 teachers and 71 non-teaching staff (58 full-time equivalent). The senior campus (Years 10-12) is at 145 - 163 Abel Smith Parade (), while the junior campus (Years 7-9) is in Parkside. It includes a special education program. There is no mainstream government primary school in Pioneer. The nearest mainstream government primary schools are Sunset State School in neighbouring

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 ...

to the north, Townview State School in neighbouring Townview to the south, and Mount Isa Central State School in Mount Isa City to the west.

References

External links

* {{City of Mount Isa