Mackay (Queensland)

Mackay
Town Hall 1912
State :  Australia State : Queensland
Coordinates : 21 ° 8 ′  S , 149 ° 11 ′  E Coordinates: 21 ° 8 ′  S , 149 ° 11 ′  E Height : 5  m Area : 136  km²
Residents : 75,710 (2016) Population density : 557 inhabitants per km²
Time zone : AEST (UTC + 10) LGA : Mackay Regional Council
Mackay

Mackay is a city in the Australian state of Queensland with 85,500 inhabitants. Mackay is located 900 kilometers north of Brisbane , the capital of Queensland. Mackay produces more than a third of Australia's sugar , which is why the city is also known as the "Sugar Capital of Australia". The average annual temperature in Mackay is 23 ° C.

The city is named after the explorer John Mackay , who invaded the Mackay Region in 1860 .

tourism

Mackay is located near the Eungella National Park , the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Islands , which are very important for the Mackay region in terms of tourism. But Mackay is not considered a typical Australian tourist destination, but rather a stopover when tourists e.g. B. are en route to the Whitsunday Islands.

history

One of the first Europeans was James Cook , who discovered the area of ​​the Machay region , who reached the coast of Mackay on June 1, 1770. Scotsman John Mackay arrived and settled on the Pioneer River with a group of New South Wales settlers in 1860, and in 1868 the first sugar cane plants from Java were planted here. Thanks to the successful cultivation of sugar cane, the settlers and the developing city soon became prosperous. Several commercial buildings burned down on Victoria Street, the main shopping street, in 1915 and 1916, and in 1918 Mackay was hit by a strong tropical cyclone and 80% destroyed. As a result, a regulation was issued that prohibited the construction of new wooden houses. In the course of the reconstruction, numerous buildings in the Art Deco style were built. In 1958 and 2008, severe storm surges again caused severe damage to the city.

architecture

Commonwealth Bank

St. Paul's Uniting Church

St. Patrick Church with rectory

Chaseley House on Sydney Street

Numerous well-preserved Art Deco buildings can be seen in the city center, e.g. For example, the former main post office built in 1940 with its clock tower that can be seen from afar, the Taylors Hotel from 1936, the Masonic Temple built in 1935, the Pioneer Shire Council from 1935 and the Ambassador Hotel (1937). The oldest buildings in the city include the Commonwealth Bank Building, built in 1880, and the Old Court House from 1885. Mackay Technical College, now part of Mackay University , was built in 1911-12. The Town Hall, completed in 1912, was one of the few buildings that survived the cyclone unscathed in 1918. The Chaseley House on Sydney Street, built in 1937, is one of the most famous Art Deco houses in the city.

The oldest surviving church in Mackay is St. Paul's Uniting Church, which was completed in 1898. One of the largest churches in the city is St. Patrick Church, whose rectory, built in 1915, is one of the city's oldest surviving residential buildings.

Rail transport

Mackay Train Station

Mackay is on the Brisbane to Cairns railway line. This is operated by Queensland Rail (QR). There is mainly freight traffic. This includes transports to the port. Passenger traffic is limited to tourist trains and an express train from Brisbane to Cairns. Mackay has a modern train station with a platform.

Line bus traffic

There is public bus service in Mackay Monday through Saturday (7:05 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.). The transport company is called MTC - Mackay Transit Coaches. A total of 12 lines are operated:

• Route 1 City to East Mackay
• Route 2 City to West Mackay
• Route 3 City to South Mackay
• Route 4 / 4A City to Slade Point
• Route 5 City to Andergrove
• Route 6 City to Beaconsfield
• Route 7 City to Northern Beaches
• Route 8 City to Gienella
• Route 9 University to Walkerston (Monday through Friday only)
• Route 10 City to Sarina (only Monday to Friday)
• Route 11 City to Mirani (Thursdays only)
• Route 12 City to Harbor / Marina

Climate table

Mackay
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     281   30th 24     317   30th 23     275   29 22nd     154   27 20th     111   24 17th     60   22nd 14th     42   21st 13     34   22nd 14th     16   25th 17th     37   27 20th     86   29 22nd     193   30th 23 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: wetterkontor.de

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Mackay Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 29.9 29.5 28.5 26.6 24.1 21.9 21.2 22.4 25.1 27.4 29.1 29.9 O 26.3 Min. Temperature (° C) 23.5 23.3 22.2 20.1 17.2 13.8 12.8 14.0 16.5 19.6 21.7 22.9 O 18.9 Precipitation ( mm ) 281.0 316.9 275.4 154.3 110.9 59.9 42.4 33.9 16.4 36.5 86.1 192.6 Σ 1,606.3 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 8.6 7.5 7.6 7.1 6.8 7.6 7.7 8.7 9.5 9.4 9.3 8.9 O 8.2 Rainy days ( d ) 12 15th 14th 12 10 5 5 4th 2 5 6th 8th Σ 98 Humidity ( % ) 77 79 79 79 80 78 78 77 74 72 73 74 O 76.7 Source: wetterkontor.de

sons and daughters of the town

• Graeme Connors (born 1956), country musician and songwriter
• Sandy Brondello (* 1968), basketball player and trainer
• Cathy Freeman (* 1973), track and field athlete
• Nicole Pratt (* 1973), tennis player
• Courtney Atkinson (* 1979), duathlete and triathlete
• Benita Willis (* 1979), long-distance runner
• Linda Mackenzie (born 1983), freestyle swimmer
• Mick Gordon (* 1985), composer and sound designer

Web links

Commons : Mackay, Queensland  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Mackay Official Website
• Official website of the MTC (English)
• Information brochure: Historical tour of the city (English; PDF; 1.3 MB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Mackay Aero . In: Climate Averages for Australian Sites . Bureau of Meteorology . Retrieved June 9, 2010.
2. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics : Mackay ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
3. ↑ mackay.qld.gov.au : History of the Mackay Region , in English. Retrieved April 16, 2012
4. ↑ Edgar P. Hoff. Australia , p. 290. Rappweiler 1990
5. ↑ http://www.mackay.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/88602/Art_deco_walk-web.pdf
6. ↑ Veronika Pavel: Australien , p. 225. Markgröningen 2011
7. ↑ http://www.mackay.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/211313/Local_Heritage_Register_-_Chaseley_House.pdf
8. ↑ Plaque on the building, in Latin