Mount Isa City Council successful in highly competitive BBRF

Written by Zoe Dark, Senior Advisor Grants

Mount Isa City Council was one of the 104 successful applicants across Australia who were offered funding under the highly competitive Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF), Community Investments stream for round 5. Peaks Grant Team managed the submission to secure Council over $500,000 in funding to deliver an event which will celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the discovery of minerals in the City.

Successful applicants in the BBRF community stream secured an average amount of funding just over $55,000, so this is a big win for this historic City. 

Today, Mount Isa and North West Queensland is one of the most productive minerals provinces in the world, mining and processing lead, silver, copper and zinc and other minerals worth billions of dollars to the Australian economy. Mount Isa has grown from Australia’s first ‘company town’ into one of the largest and most important industrial powerhouses in the nation, the region also produces some of the country’s best beef. Residents are extremely proud of their mining history and significant economic contributions. This project celebrates Mount Isa’s strong sense of identity and community.

The 100 Year Celebrations will build on local strengths, such as the world class Rodeo, the natural landscape, fossil trails, natural parks and cultural heritage, to provide real economic and social outcomes for Mount Isa and the wider region through a vibrant outback events. The Mount Isa’s world famous Rodeo in 2019 attracted 40,000 attendees, raised $6M in funds for charity and generated $12.24 million in tourist spending. 

While Council is not giving too much away they are promising their celebrations will feature big name talents as well as provide past residents with an opportunity to reconnect. 

In a media statement released from Council, Mount Isa 100 Years Advisory Committee Chair,  Councillor Peta MacRae said the funding would be used to build on Mount Isa’s flagship events in 2023, the city’s centennial year.

“We have a range of fantastic events and activities planned for the whole of 2023 to showcase the rich history of Mount Isa and celebrate what makes the city and its community great, as befitting its centenary year,” Cr MacRae said.

“We anticipate the 100-year reunion dinner will be a gala-style event that will attract people who once lived in the city back to Mount Isa.

“The Founders’ Day Underground Experience at Outback at Isa aims to tell stories from Traditional Owners about the country and people before Mount Isa was established and feature long-term residents’ stories of ‘back in the day’.

“We see the Mount Isa 100 Years Celebrations as not just promoting Mount Isa and the region as a tourism destination and great place to live to people across Australia, but also celebrating Indigenous culture, and increasing community pride and social inclusion,” said Cr MacRrae.

The 100 Years Celebrations aims to bring many visitors to Mount Isa as part of community and economic recovery planning. North West Queensland has been hit particularly hard in recent times. The North West Queensland Monsoon Trough Flooding in 2019 impacted critical transport infrastructure and regional productivity. Major events were not held in 2020 due to the Coronavirus restrictions. 

The event will offer the opportunity for Mount Isa’s diverse multicultural population to leverage the event by showcasing and selling their products. As a result, this project will benefit residents, local businesses and the wider region and tourism corridors such as the Overlanders Way.

As the Grants Program Officer Leader, Zoe Dark, I led the submission and have a very strong connection to Mount Isa, having called it home for 10 years and was extremely pleased for Council success. 

It's great news for Mount Isa. The hardworking, patriotic locals have a proud history of coming together and supporting each other in hard times. 

Our team did a fantastic job capturing the projects narrative, and qualifying and quantifying the social and economic benefits.

A portion of Mount Isa’s population are transient, many residents are far from family and friends, events such as the 100 Years Celebrations are a critical to enable community connections and social inclusion. I can’t wait to return to the City in 2023.

To see all open grants available to Queensland council's and their communities, click here.