The Leichhardt River 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).[3][4] Mount Isa City is a "townside" suburb.[5]
The suburb is bounded to the west in parts by the Leichhardt River, to the north by Mary Street, to the east in parts by Atherton Street and Gray Street, and to the south by Isa Street and Dora Street.[6] Despite the townside/mineside division of the suburbs, there is one exception. A small area along the riverside of West Street that contains the Mount Isa City Council's Civic Centre is not part of the townside suburb of Mount Isa City but part of the mineside suburb of Miles End that extends across the river.[6]
The land is mostly flat, ranging between 350 and 360 metres (1,150 and 1,180 ft) above sea level.[6]
As the central business district for the town, the land use is predominantly commercial services with only a small amount of residential development mostly in the east of the suburb.[6]
History
The name reflects it is the central suburb of Mount Isa, the name suggested by prospector John Campbell (Cam) Miles who had the first mineral lease on the silver/lead deposit at Mount Isa in February 1923. It is thought to be a deliberate corruption of Mount Ida, the abandoned mining town in Western Australia which featured in the reminiscences of his friend Moses Rowlands.[2][7]
Mount Isa Provisional School opened on 28 July 1924. In 1926 it became Mount Isa State School. was proclaimed a state school in 1926. In 1966 it was renamed Mount Isa Central State School.[8]
There are no secondary schools in the suburb. The nearest government secondary school is Spinifex State College which has its junior campus in neighbouring Parkside to the south-west and its senior campus in Pioneer to the east.[6]
^Burton, Kim-Maree (3 March 2019). "Mount Isa or Ida?". The North West Star. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^Burton, Kim-Maree (2 February 2019). "90 years of the CWA in Isa". The North West Star. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.