vegetation

Nestled close to the coast northwest of Mackay is a group of hilly continental islands. Newry, Rabbit, Outer Newry, Acacia, Mausoleum, and Rocky Islands are protected as part of Newry Islands National Park. The islands are wild and windswept with rocky, exposed headlands and sandstone cliffs. Rabbit, the largest island, has sandy beaches. A Grassy open forest with gnarled ironbarks, bloodwoods, and blue gums covers most of Newry Island. Small patches of dry rainforest grow in sheltered pockets on the southern slopes. Hoop pines tower over the canopy of Mackay tulip oaks and mountain ash. Orange-footed scrubfowl build nesting mounds in the rainforest. This is the most southerly limit of the pied imperial pigeon, a migratory bird that feeds on rainforest fruits. The islands and surrounding waters are part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and are protected. Seagrass beds around the islands provide a habitat for the threatened dugong. In summer, green turtles nest on Rabbit Island. Source: austhrutime.com/newry_islands_national_park.htm

Newry Island lies 200 m off the south-eastern tip of Rabbit Island. It is a smaller island, just under 1 km long, with a maximum elevation of 75 m. The island is protected from the Trades by Outer Newry Island and conditions are usually calm around the island, apart from strong tidal currents. The island has three small beaches. The northern beach (1084) is 250 m long and is bounded by densely vegetated, 40 m high headlands. It faces northeast and consists of a 50 m wide high tide beach fronted by 100 m wide sand and rock flats. Beach 1085 is a 50 m pocket of sand immediately east of the northern beach and is similar in character. Source: beachsafe.org.au/beach/qld/mackay/seaforth/newry-island-2

In the lower right corner is "Isa Mine State School", a State School, but only MIM employees children were allowed to attend. The lower left complex was Mount Isa Mines private hospital for employees only. That's another long story.

Mount Isa Mines’ historic Urquhart Shaft and Headframe holds a special place in Mount Isa’s iconic skyline and is acknowledged as a significant piece of Queensland’s European heritage. Originally named No. 1 Ore Shaft, the infrastructure was built between 1929 and 1931 to aid in the commencement of zinc-lead production at Mount Isa Mines, hoisting its first ore in 1931. At the time, the hilltop site for the shaft and headframe was selected as it was just outside the 'known' ore-bearing regions of the zinc-lead mine and was in an ideal location to feed into the mill site and smelting workings. Today, the Urquhart Shaft Headframe, which still sits hillside, is a community landmark and a symbol of Mount Isa Mines and is one of five Queensland European heritage-listed assets originally built by the company. The Urquhart Headframe, which used an American A-frame rather than the usual four power frames of the period, was considered innovative at the time. Like much of Mount Isa Mines' early infrastructure, the Urquhart Shaft was named in honour of one of the key players in the company’s almost 100-year history. Originally from Turkey, John Leslie Urquhart, Chairman of London-based Russo-Asiatic Consolidated Limited, was one of Mount Isa Mines’ early financiers and accepted technical control of the operation while also forming a London board of Mount Isa Mines. He held the position of General Manager and Chairman of Directors from 1927 until his unexpected death in 1933. Urquhart, who also held mining interests across the globe and spoke several languages, is credited with importing the latest technological advancements in mining equipment and employing the finest workers from all over the world. He was responsible for developing the mining community known today as Mineside, which included housing quarters and dormitories, shops, a hospital and recreational facilities for Mount Isa Mines employees. Source: www.glencore.com.au/operations-and-projects/qld-metals/re...

This exposition was held at Wembley, London, England. Henry Mobsby designed the Queensland Court and travelled as State representative to London to supervise the construction of the layout, design trophies, and formulate a colour scheme. He travelled with his wife and daughter on the ‘Ormuz’ arriving in London on 8 March 1908. While in England, he exhibited Queensland products at Newcastle, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire and also at Aberdeen in Scotland and Dublin in Ireland. He and his family returned to Australia on the 'Ophir' in October 1909. Source: picryl.com/media/australian-pavilion-franco-british-expos...

The announcement regarding the staff to be sent from Queensland to work at the exhibition was made in December 1907 and under the leadership of John Campbell, Henry Mobsby was appointed as the display officer and asked to design the state’s Court in the Australian Palace. In area, Queensland secured the second-largest court within the pavilion and it was located in a prime position. The Mobsby family, together with the other exhibition staff and their families, traveled in a second-class cabin according to the ship’s passenger list. The Ormuz sailed from Pinkenba wharf traveling south to the Australian ports of Sydney, Melbourne, and Fremantle before crossing the Atlantic for England. Onboard the ship were 120 cases of Queensland exhibits, 152 of which contained bottled wine. Unfortunately, pilfering went on during the voyage because the wine cases ended up being 57 bottles short and it was also noted that both Henry’s luggage and that of another staff member, had been opened and articles extracted. Altogether Queensland sent over 1,593 boxes of exhibits to display at the fair, including 380 boxes of pamphlets, 30 boxes of pictures and albums, and 27 boxes of postcards, 155 the majority of which would have been produced from Henry’s photographs taken during his travels around the state. These pamphlets and postcards proved to be a very useful tool for attracting visitors to the Queensland Court, and one which the other states lacked. Henry designed the Great Pagoda, the centerpiece for the Queensland Court, and it was made up of sixteen varieties of native timbers and built by the Ipswich Railway Workshops. The different product displays (known as trophies) were Henry’s design and this was the first time Queensland had used the skills of a professional artist in this regard. The trophies were distinctly original and based on the principle that they should be formed out of the various exhibits, rather than elaborately designed structures upon which exhibits were placed. They received much praise from everyone. The first and foremost section of the Court was devoted to agricultural and pastoral exhibits. Source: HENRY WILLIAM MOBSBY (1860 – 1933) “....a most valuable officer” Published – January 2017 By the Author Kaye Mobsby espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_418596/HenryWMobsby_biog...