Mackay

History

The area which is now Mackay City was originally inhabited by the local Yuibera people. Yuwibara (also known as Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra) is an Australian Indigenous language spoken on Yuwibara country. It is closely related to the Biri languages/dialects. The Yuwibara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mackay Region. Captain James Cook, sailed past the Mackay coast on 1 June 1770 and named several local landmarks, including Cape Palmerston, Slade Point and Cape Hillsborough. It was during this trip that the Endeavours botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, briefly recorded seeing Indigenous Australians. In 1860, John Mackay led an overland expedition to the region to obtain land. Finding most of the inland areas already having been selected by other British colonists, Mackay turned toward the coast and entered what he called the May Plains but is now known as the Pioneer Valley. Mackay was the first European to visit the region that is now named after him. In 1863, Mackay was declared a port of entry for settlers. Amongst the first boatload of arrivals was hotelier and future mayor Korah Halcomb Wills. Mackay was initially named Alexandra but the government soon changed it to Mackay to honour its founder. The first sale of town allotments was in 1864. During the 1860s, the local Aboriginal population, as Henry Ling Roth puts it, "did what they could to defend their country and their lives." The usual mode of the Native Police was terror, violence and massacre. In 1868 a large group of Aboriginal people killed 7 cattle at Greenmount. Johnstone and his troopers were sent out after them but it is unclear if he succeeded in "administering a lesson to the blackskins." Colonist, George Bridgman, provided some sanctuary…

Geography

Mackay is situated on the 21st parallel south adjacent to the Coral Sea coast and about both banks of the Pioneer River. The Clarke Range lies to the west of the city. The city is expanding to accommodate for growth with most of the expansion happening in the Beachside, Southern, Central and Pioneer Valley suburbs. Suburbs to the north of the city such as Midge Point are also fast growing with residential estates in demand. There is disagreement about how to describe the location of Mackay, with debate ongoing as to whether the city is located in North Queensland or Central Queensland. There is no uniform agreement among either state or federal government agencies on the definition of North Queensland, with government services for Mackay being provided through both Townsville (North Queensland) and Rockhampton (Central Queensland). The ABC's local radio station in Mackay is also called ABC Tropical North. However, Queensland Health designates Mackay as a health district distinct from both Central Queensland and Townsville health districts and the Mackay-based rescue helicopter, part of the Queensland Health Aeromedical Retrieval Service, is called CQ Rescue. Mackay has a dry-winter humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cwa), closely bordering a tropical savanna climate (Koppen: Aw) with hot, very rainy summers and very mild, dry winters. Warm to hot weather predominates throughout the year, with mean maximums averaging from in January to in July, while minimums range from in July to in February. The wet season, lasting from December to March, is characterised by hot weather, high humidity and intense rainfall, with occasional monsoonal low pressure systems and tropical cyclones. Meanwhile, the dry season, from June to October, are cooler and less humid. The…

Most-observed species

• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,166
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  1,132
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  1,084
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  1,077
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  1,036
• Australasian Figbird

  Sphecotheres vieilloti Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  1,031
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  920
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  862