In and Around Mt Isa.Part 1.

Hi Everyone,
Joanne and I recently celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, so we decided to spend the weekend at Mt Isa. It worked out well with me having the weekend off so we took the opportunity to go.
Mt Isa is a reasonably young town being established in mid 1924, after the prospector John Campbell Miles discovered lead ore at the site by chance when he was passing through on his way to the Northern Territory in February 1923. He gave his lease the name Mt Isa.

 

The eastern entrance to Mt Isa. The stacks are the dominant landmark along with the house on the hill.

Mt Isa Mines was established in January 1924 and immediately started setting up a town with the necessary infrastructure to sustain their workforce. Initially only mining lead and later silver, zinc and copper the mine being so far from a sea port had problems getting it's product to the port of Townsville. Camel trains and carts would transport the ore to Cloncurry for loading on the rail until the rail arrived at Mt Isa in April 1929. MIM continued on a sustained growth path and by 1955 it was the largest mining company in Australia. Xstrata bought MIM in June 2003 and has invested more than $570 million in further development and employs approximately 5000 people. 

 

This is the final resting place of John Campbell Miles on the corner of Rodeo Drive and Miles Street.
His ashes are interned under the memorial and he keeps watch over the mine and the town he founded.

The view from City Lookout.

Mt Isa is situated on the Leichhardt River which only flows in the wet season and after becoming a city in 1968 has the title of the Largest City in The World  in area covering 40977 km2.

 

 Looking South from City Lookout. The A frame in the foreground is at the Hard Times Mine and in the distance is Mica Creek power station. We will have a closer look later.

Overlooking the hospital(the big building in the background) and in the foreground is the underground markets and the underground hospital. This hospital was excavated by miners during WW 2 as a backup to the regular hospital after the bombing of  Darwin. It is now a tourist attraction and is still fully equipped as it was back then.

Mt Isa has a population of 22000, this is the council chambers.

The Red Earth Hotel is across the road from the council chambers and is the classiest pub in town. This is where we stayed the weekend, our room was on the corner, the door you can see on the top floor.

Looking from our balcony down West Street. Council on the left Rodeo Drive on the right.

The Barkly Highway runs through town, this is facing east towards Cloncurry.

The corner of Barkly Highway and Miles Street. City Lookout is on the hill to the right.

The Isa Hotel is connected to the Red Earth via a walkway and beer garden, the meals here are first class.

Walking down Rodeo Drive you see the footpath lined with stars and plaques of all the cowboys and bulls who have achieved Legendary status at the Isa Rodeo.

Simpson St.

Corner of Rodeo Drive and Camooweal Street.

Not much going on Saturday arvo.

This is from another hill that had a steep 4wd track up it, just couldn't resist.

The stack on the right is the Lead Smelter, it was built in 1979 and is 270 metres tall, the one in the middle is the Copper Smelter it is 153 metres and built in 1960 and the left hand one is the Acid Plant. We load acid out of there and take it to Phosphate Hill.

Mt Isa Railway Station and the Copper Smelter in the background.

Mica Creek power station was a coal fired station but it was converted to gas some years ago. It supplies power to the whole region including Cloncurry. They have started construction of a new power station the Diamantina Power Station which will also be gas fired and will assist Mica Creek to supply our power.

Some of the locals hanging out. Check the one out on the left. Totally chilled out.

Just east of town is Telstra Hill and is a popular lookout. There have been a number of fires in the area recently and the area around Telsta Hill has copped a flogging for as far as you can see. There are still fires burning at this time.



Telstra's buildings and equipment must have been very close to the heat. The small bushes are called Turpentine Bush and they burn with a very intense heat.

 On the other spur of the hill is our new BOM weather station only commissioned a couple of weeks ago.

Brand New.

 Looking east the Barkly Highway from Cloncurry.

A lot of smoke around from the fires burning in the area. Most of them start from lightning.

Not much vegetation left.

The end of a big day.
 

 Well that was a look around town, tomorrow we will visit the Hard Times Mine and Lake Moondarra. Catch ya later.