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| Holidaymakers at Mackay
Harbour |
Mackay (including Walkerston)
Large and prosperous coastal city.
Located 975 km north of Brisbane, Mackay is one of
Queensland's major coastal cities. A large and prosperous
centre it has everything from a large, modern and
sophisticated central business district to good beaches,
major port facilities, a huge range of motels and hotels,
good restaurants, excellent boating facilities and plenty of
interesting trips into the historical hinterland.
The first European to pass by the Mackay area was Captain
James Cook as he sailed up the eastern coast of Australia in
1770. He named Cape Palmerston, failed to recognise the
mouth of the Pioneer River and, quite sensibly, was more
concerned about running aground on the reef than about the
potential of the land to the west.
The area remained isolated for over 70 years after the
settlement of Port Jackson. The first European explorer in
the area was Captain John Mackay, after whom the town is
named. In May 1860, after travelling overland from northern
New South Wales, searching for good grazing land, Mackay led
a group of people into the area via Bells Creek and the
Pioneer River. On 28 May the group started marking runs
after drawing straws for the best lots.
In 1861 Mackay brought cattle and horses overland from
Armidale in New South Wales. The following year the tiny
settlement of Mackay was established on the banks of the
Pioneer River. The area around Mackay remained predominantly
cattle until 1865 when John Spiller planted the first sugar.
Sugar mills were built in the area around Mackay in 1867
and the first sugar was exported that year. It was around
this time that the South Sea island labourers known as
Kanakas were brought to the area to work, as virtual slave
labour, on the sugar plantations. At the time there was a
notion that the tropics were not a suitable work environment
for white people and that only blacks were able to handle
the debilitating conditions. Kanakas continued to work on
the plantations until 1906.
It was sugar that really gave Mackay its boost. Even
today it is hard not to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of
sugar production in the area. Once outside the city it seems
that every road is flanked by endless fields of sugar cane.
It has been estimated that the area around Mackay produces
over 25 per cent of all Australia's sugar.
Certainly by the 1870s the growth of Mackay and the
Pioneer Valley could be accounted for by the local sugar
production. In 1874, for example, there were sixteen sugar
mills in the area.
Mackay became a municipality in 1869 and a city on 16
August 1918. Its increasing importance was related to its
development as a major transport centre. The railway arrived
in 1922 and in 1939 an artificial deepwater harbour was
built with the largest sugar terminal in the Southern
Hemisphere jutting out to load ships with the hinterland's
produce.
More recently the discovery and development of the huge
coal deposits in the Bowen Basin (particularly at Blair
Athol, Dysart and Moranbah) has led to the construction of
the Hay Point Coal Terminal which, when it was built, was
the world's largest coal-loading facility. In 1983 it was
extended when the Dalrymple Bay coal loader was opened.
Mackay is a remarkably gracious tropical city. It basks
under the tropical sun and its wide streets are
characterised by beautifully kept median strips with Royal
palm trees and flowering tropical plants. The town's current
piece de resistance is the huge Mackay Civic Centre complex
which features a fountain identical to the one in Sydney's
Kings Cross.
Visitors to Mackay should note that, for most of the
year, it is not necessary to book accommodation. Nebo Road,
on the way into the city from the south, is a solid wall of
good quality motels which almost always have vacancies.
Things to see:
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| The Mackay Civic Centre
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Information Centre
Visitors arriving in Mackay from the south should stop at
the unusual Tourism Mackay Information Centre (320 Nebo
Road) which features a replica of the chimney from the old
Richmond Sugar Mill. They provide excellent maps and can
book trips to the Great Barrier Reef as well as advise on
accommodation and sightseeing. There are one-day trips to
the Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island and Lindeman Island.
In fairness, access to the Whitsunday islands is a lot
easier from Shute Harbour which is part of the new township
of Whitsunday.
Victoria St Buildings
Along Victoria Street, Mackay's main street, there are a
number of outstanding old buildings. One of the most
impressive is the Commonwealth Bank (1880) at number 63. It
features huge Doric columns on the ground floor with
cast-iron columns and balustrades on the first floor and the
imposing Queensland National Bank building (1922) on the
corner of Victoria Street and Wood Street. It is an
interesting mixture of Corinthian columns with ornate
corners and plaster arches.
Gordon St
Gordon Street, which runs parallel to Victoria Street, also
has a number of impressive buildings. There is the huge
Mackay Civic Centre which features a fountain identical to
the one in Sydney's Kings Cross. The Anglican Church is the
third on the site. The first was built in 1867 and actually
fell down and the second was destroyed by a cyclone in 1918.
The Masonic Temple (1927), like so many Masonic Temples, is
a huge ornate building. In this instance the style is
basically Classical Revival which was all the rage in the
1920s. It cost £6 500 to build. At the easterly end of the
street is Queens Park with its band rotunda, children's
playground and excellent displays of tropical orchids.
Customs House
On the way out to the Mackay Bulk Sugar Terminal the visitor
has to cross the Pioneer River. On the town side of the
Forgan Bridge is the superb old Customs House which was
built in 1901 to collect interstate excise on the local rum
production.
The Mackay Bulk Sugar Terminal
Located at Mackay Harbour the bulk sugar terminal is well
worth a visit. Reputedly the largest in Australia it is
capable of holding over 700 000 tonnes of sugar. There are
no tours of the facility.
Harbour Beach
Nearby is the Mackay Surf Lifesaving Club which operates on
Harbour Beach, a delightful and quiet location removed from
the more popular Town and Illawong beaches which lie to the
south. Beside the beach is an excellent children's park with
a huge variety of activities as well as distinctive novelty
fish garbage bins.
Far Beach
At Far Beach there is a monument to the 29 people, most of
them school children, who were killed in 1960 when a Fokker
Friendship crashed in the sea while approaching Mackay
Airport.
Cape Hillsborough National Park
45 km north of Mackay is the Cape Hillsborough National
Park. An area of 850 hectares beside the ocean it is a
combination of rugged hills, rhyolite boulders from the old
volcanic plug known as Pinnacle Rock, and sandy beaches
where, in the late afternoon, kangaroos can be seen. The
area is predominantly rainforest and the chief activities
are bushwalking or beachside swimming and sunbathing. There
are camping areas at Smalleys Beach and a resort at Cape
Hillsborough.
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| Dining room at Greenmount
Homestead |
Greenmount Historic Homestead
Perhaps the most interesting journey to be taken from Mackay
is the one out on the Peak Downs Highway which leads to
Walkerston and Mirani.
Walkerston, located 15 km from Mackay and 20 m above
sea-level, lies in the heart of a rich sugar-growing area.
The first settler in the area was John Mackay but in the
late 1860s John Walker (after whom the town is named) took
over Mackay's properties which, following his death in 1879,
were sold to the Colonial Sugar Refining Company.
The principal attraction at Walkerston, which is now
little more than a commuter suburb for Mackay, is Greenmount
Historic Homestead. After passing through Walkerston the
road to Greenmount is clearly signposted. This gracious old
house is located a couple of kilometres from the highway and
is beautifully situated amidst gardens of tropical splendour
on the top of a hill overlooking the surrounding sugar
plantations.
This land was originally owned by John Mackay but he was
forced to sell it and it passed through a number of hands
before Albert Cook, whose father had arrived in the area
shortly after John Mackay, purchased it in 1912. By this
time the Cook family had established themselves as one of
the Pioneer Valley's premier land holders. Albert Cook built
the present home in 1915. It was left to the Pioneer Shire
Council by his son Tom in 1981 and is currently leased by
the Mackay Historical Society and Museum Inc.
A visit to the home is a rare opportunity to experience
the lifestyle of a successful cattle grazier in the late
nineteenth century. Each room has been restored to its
original condition and the furniture, even down to the large
dining room with the individual place settings, is original.
All items in the homestead belonged to the Cook family. It
is open Monday-Friday from 9.30 a.m. to12.30 p.m. and on
Sundays from 10.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m.
Australian Businesses for sale
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Broadwalk Business Brokers
Businesses for Sale in Mackay: Buy or Sell Hotels, Motels, Caravan Parks, Bed & Breakfast,
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Wrecking Yard for sale in Mackay.
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