About Us
Mount Isa
The progressive city of Mount Isa is the most important industrial,
commercial and administrative centre in Inland Queensland, Australia.
Queensland is the second largest state or territory in Australia.
Situated 977 kilometres west of Townsville, Mount Isa is an important
railhead; has an airport with facilities for jets and is a key road hub for
the extensive system of highways linking Brisbane, Townsville, Alice
Springs and Darwin.
Mount Isa began as a mining town, following the discovery in 1923 of
substantial deposits of lead. It is now one of the worlds top ten producers
of copper, silver, lead and zinc. Development has kept pace as prosperity
increased. Apart from mining, the gulf regions major industry is beef
cattle grazing. Beef roads, which service the northern Gulf properties,
converge on Mount Isa which is also an important retail service centre for
the surrounding pastoral towns and properties.
The city has grown to be a modern, well appointed centre of 23,000 people.
It is a very cosmopolitan place, with 56 different national origins living
and working together in harmony.
In August 2003, Outback at Isa in the heart of Mount Isa, North West Queensland, opened its doors to visitors to provide them with a great array of exciting tours, activities, and attractions, and to introduce an expanded and reinvigorated Riversleigh Fossil Centre. Since 1995, the Riversleigh Fossil Centre had been providing a must-see experience to visitors to Mount Isa with its interpretation of, and fossil exhibits from, the World Heritage-listed Riversleigh Fossil Fields some hours north of Mount Isa.
After completion of the Hard Times Mine, Outback at Isa began offering underground mine tours from March 2004. Construction of Outback at Isa, and in particular the Hard Times Mine, was prompted by the closure of the Mount Isa Mines (MIM) underground tour in 2002 and the realisation that visitors were still seeking an underground experience and to know more about the history of Mount Isa. The culmination of immense toil and effort on the part of an army of volunteers, contractors, businesses and all tiers of government, Outback at Isa was the vision of the former Mayor of Mount Isa City Council (MICC) Ron McCullough, and his Council. The Queensland Heritage Trails Network program with Queensland and Commonwealth Government funding, partnered with MICC and numerous generous corporate sponsors to allow the project to proceed.
Participants in the Underground Mine Tours go deep into mining country and experience a day in the life of the famous Mount Isa miners. Real miners guide visitors through 1.2 kilometres of tunnels, the history of Mount Isa mining, and the unique experiences in the mine - visitors get a buzz out of having a go at operating the air-leg drill, hearing the roar of the machinery, and feeling the earth move with the firing of the drill face. In addition, visitors see, hear and feel the heritage of Mount Isa come to life in the interactive multimedia Isa Experience Gallery and learn more about the indigenous, pioneering and mining history as told by those who have helped create it.
Stories and images of flesh-eating kangaroos, giant carnivorous emus, two metre tall wombats, and marsupial lions astound visitors to the Riversleigh Fossil Centre. Tours are available for gropups through the Centre's laboratory to learn more about these extraordinary creatures and their fossilised bones now being released from limestone rocks in vats of acid in the laboratory.
The Outback Park features plants endemic to the region with the centrepiece of the Park and entices visitors to enjoy the vistas across the lagoon, complete with large barramundi, fed by a Lawn Hill inspired waterfall cascading into the lagoon. Cultural activities are held regularly in the outdoor amphitheatre.
Outback at Isa operates the regional Visitor Information Centre, providing vital tourism information on Mount Isa and the region in a welcoming and friendly manner - the VIC has become either first point of call for visitors arriving from the Northern Territory to explore Queensland or last point of contact for those leaving Queensland to visit the Territory.