kalkadoon

On the left of the photograph is the winder house of No. 1 Ore Shaft; the right is the redundant original Lead Smelter stack. Directly behind the men is the "new", at the time, Lead Smelter Stack. Between the old and new stacks the collected fumes etc in the lead smelter operations are processed in a filtration plant for prior to release to the atmosphere. The large black hill is granulated lead slag, very glass like material. This was a huge hill and became known as Mt. Haney.

In 1926 the Mount Isa Hotel was built by Samuel Allen. A team of tradesmen started construction on the corner of Miles and Marian Streets. It included coffee and dining rooms, saloon bar, lounge, and billiard room on the ground floor, with twenty-three bedrooms with balconies upstairs, stables and a garage at the rear. Mr. H. Smith accepted the position of manager of the new Mount Isa hotel. The hotel license was granted on Wednesday 26th September 1926, and the hotel opened on that day. Locally it was known as the ‘Top Pub”, “Smith’s Pub” and later ‘The Isa”. The Public Bar was boasted as Australia’s longest bar, it later became Australia’s second longest bar. Apparently Kalgoorlie held the record, so they increased the length of their bar by a few inches to regain their record. The bull ring at the Mount Isa Hotel, a square wooden floor area located just off the saloon bar where many arguments were settled with flying fists, resembled a boxing ring, although its primary purpose was to provide ventilation in the centre of the big hotel building. It had long wooden seats for patrons not wishing to sit at the crowded bar. These popular events often required having to book ahead for the tournament.

Community Store, Mineside. This was a company owned store for Mount Isa Mines Employees only and was on a pay deduction system. It contained a general store, fruit and vegetable store, chemist and Post Office agency. At this time the main Mount Isa Post Office was located in West Street about opposite the Mount Isa City Library today.