Search for an image
Mackay Libraries
Located about halfway between Brisbane and Cairns, Mackay truly is the Heart of Queensland. This coastal city of over 78,000 residents is positioned 400 kilometres north of the Tropic of Capricorn, with its boundaries extending from Alligator Creek in the south to the O'Connell River in the north. With its coastal location and an annual temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, Mackay offers residents and visitors alike a relaxed, tropical lifestyle that combines all the facilities of a modern regional city with an array of natural wonders.
It covers an area of 2,820 square kilometres on the mainland and a further 100 square kilometres of islands, including Lindeman, Brampton, Keswick and St Bees. Mackay is the largest sugar producing area in Australia and is home to several sugar mills, one of Australia's four sugar refineries and the largest bulk sugar terminal in the world. The city is also a vital service centre for the mines of the nearby Bowen Basin, which produce 85 per cent of the state's coal. The beef cattle and tourism industries are also important to Mackay's economic base and this diversity has helped the city to maintain its prosperity despite fluctuating markets and other challenges.
Mackay Libraries have branches at Mackay City, Mount Pleasant (Gordon White Library), Walkerston and a Mobile Library that services the area from Midge Point in the north, to Chelona in the south and Eton in the west. Over 46,000 residents of Mackay make over 30,000 visits each month.
Mackay Libraries offer a wide range of services, resources and activities for people of all ages and interests.
Mackay Libraries' Local History Collection, located in the Carmel Daveson Local History Research Room at Mackay City Library, aims to collect and preserve all book and non-book materials pertaining to the Mackay district and to organise this material and make it available for use. Resources housed within the Local History Collection are not available for loan, but are available for viewing in the Research Room.
The historical photograph collection consists of over 6,000 photographic images depicting life in Mackay and the surrounding district. Much of the content of this collection donated to the library, by those interested in the preservation and recording of the community's history. Copies of some of these images are available on request and subject to copyright requirements. Other resources held in the Local History Collection include books; newspaper archives; vertical and newspaper clippings files; manuscripts; original collections; and photographs.
Contact details:
Local History Coordinator
Mackay Libraries
PO Box 41
Mackay Qld 4740
p: (07) 4957 1787
f: (07) 4944 2471
e: localhistory@mackay.qld.gov.au
w: http://www.mackaylibraries.com.au
Last updated: 8th February 2008
Creatively linking Queenslanders to information, knowledge and each other
