Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about 970 kilometres (603 mi) north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar.

There is controversy about the geographic location of the region, with most people referring it as a part of North Queensland, with some, even the Bureau of Meteorology, calling it the far north end of Central Queensland. Equally, there has always been much contention over the pronunciation of the name Mackay. Correspondence received by Mackay City Library in 2007, from descendants of John Mackay, confirms that the correct pronunciation is /məˈkaɪ/ (rhyming with sky), from the Gaelic name "MacAoidh" which is pronounced "i" not "ay".

Geography

Mackay is situated on the 21st parallel south on the banks of the Pioneer River. The Range lies on the eastern side of the city, with the Athelstane Range to the west. The city is expanding to accommodate for growth with most of the expansion happening in the Beachside, Southern, Central and Pioneer Valley suburbs.

Climate

Mackay Sunrise and
Sunset Times

Mackay has a humid subtropical climate (CWa) under the Köppen climate classification.

On 18 February 1958, Mackay was hit with massive flooding caused by heavy rainfall upstream with 878 mm of rain falling at Finch Hatton in 24 hours. The flood peaked at 9.14 metres (29.99 ft). The water flowed down the valley and flooded Mackay within hours. Residents were rescued off rooftops by boats and taken to emergency accommodation. The flood broke Australian records.

On 15 February 2008, almost exactly 50 years from the last major flood, Mackay was devastated by severe flooding caused by over 600 mm of rain in 6 hours with around 2000 homes affected.

Economy

Mackay's growing CBD

As of the 2007-2008 period, Mackay contributed $15.4 billion to the Australian economy, which represents 7.1% of Queensland's GSP. This is largely on the back of its export-oriented industries of sugar and mining.

Mackay is famous for its history as one of Australia's largest cane farming regions. However, in recent years, the mining industry has become the mainstay of the local economy. Heavy investment and planning is also going into Mackay's growing tourism industry.

Mining

Mackay is widely recognised as the gateway to the famous Bowen Basin coal mining reserves of Central Queensland. It is the single largest coal reserve in Australia, with 34 operational coal mines extracting over 100 million tonnes annually. This represents some 83 per cent of the State of Queensland’s coal production, among its most important export commodities. While much of this is used in Australia, Japan and China are the largest export recipients. Although coal was reported to be discovered late in the 19th century, it was not until 1971 that the first coal from Goonyella was produced on a commercial scale.

Over the last 10 years, Mackay has become the location of choice for many mining service companies which supply and consult to the mine operators. This is due to its strategic proximity to the mines, major highways and train lines, and the Hay Point coal terminals. Paget, to the city's south, has become the suburb most of these companies choose to locate to. Global companies which have set up major facilities in the area include Caterpillar Inc., MMD Sizers and Le Tourneau Technologies.

Despite its benefits, it is widely recognised that Mackay has come to depend too heavily on the mining industry for local economic growth. However, the Mackay Regional Council (in conjunction with the Queensland Government and other key stakeholders) have made efforts to diversify the economic base of the region, particularly into emerging sectors including eco-tourism, bioenergy and the marine industry.

Sugar

The bulk sugar terminal

Mackay is widely noted as the ‘Sugar Capital’ of Australia, producing a sizeable portion of Australia’s domestic supplies and exports.

The industry in Mackay has its roots back in the 19th century. Historically, plantations were small and had their own mills to crush the cane during harvest. Over the years as the industry grew and developed, Co-operatives formed which consolidated the harvesting, crushing and distribution of the sugar in selected zones. Throughout the 20th century, the privately owned mills in the Mackay district closed one by one until only four remained - Marian, Racecourse, Farleigh and Pleystowe. Today, Pleystowe is the oldest surviving mill in the district.

Mackay Sugar (75% owned by CSR Limited) now owns and operates three of these remaining mills, including Racecourse Mill which became site of the region’s first Sugar Refinery in the 1990s. Growers in the region have a total cane production area of approximately 86,000 hectares. The growers are capable (in good seasons) of supplying up to 6.5 million tonnes of cane to the factories for processing. On average, Mackay Sugar produces about 850,000 tonnes of raw sugar and 180,000 tonnes of the by-product molasses annually. Mackay is also home to one of the largest bulk-sugar loading terminals in the world at Mackay Harbour.

The sugar industry in Mackay has faced steep challenges over the last 10 years as it is largely dependent on high world sugar prices to remain viable. However, efforts are going into diversifying the use of sugar cane for different purposes. This includes a planned energy cogeneration plant that could deliver up to 30 per cent of Mackay’s annual electricity supply. Use of sugar can in ethanol-based fuel for vehicles also has strong potential.

Tourism

Compared to many of its neighboring cities and regions in Queensland, Mackay’s tourism industry is small and still developing. This is despite being close to notable attractions including the Eungella National Park, the Great Barrier Reef, Eimeo Pacific Hotel and the Whitsunday Islands.

Latest figures indicate approx. 750,000 domestic and international visitors visit the region annually. More telling, however, is that domestic and international visitor night stays have increased to 3.2 million annually, an increase of nearly 1 million visitor nights since 2000.

Several new hotels have opened in the region since 2000, further indication of a growing industry. This includes the Mackay Grand Mercure, The Clarion International and Quest Serviced Apartments. Currently underway is the Eastpoint development, a $250 million eco-tourism precinct on the northern bank at the mouth of the Pioneer River, which is expected to draw large numbers of tourists.

A number of other notable facilities have opened in the region over the last decade, providing a wider offering for the tourist market. (Mackay’s tourism offering is discussed further below in the section Local attractions.)

Marine

Mackay Marina

Like tourism, the marine industry in Mackay is small but has a lot of potential. Mackay is well situated to become a major service centre for the marine industry, being in immediate proximity to the Whitsundays, and located halfway between Brisbane and Cairns. Currently the Mackay Marina is the largest base in the district for the maintenance, refit and related services for all marine craft, particularly Super Yachts. The Mackay Whitsunday Super Yacht Cluster, a group of regional companies focusing on providing integrated repair, refit and provisioning for the increasing number of visiting super yachts, was established in 2001 to support and promote the development of this sector.

Retail

Mackay has three main shopping centres. Caneland Central is the largest of these, with over 130 specialties stores. Owned by Lend Lease, the centre is undergoing a $220 million redevelopment which will increase its footprint to over 66,000 sq metres. Myer is expected to be among the new anchor tenants, along with a host of other major stores. This expansion is expected to be completed sometime in 2011.

Mount Pleasant-Greenfields is the second major shopping centre in the Mackay region. It hosts a number of department stores, supermarkets and other speciality outlets. Outside the main centre, a number of bulky-good outlets also operate, along with a 5-screen cinema complex.

The Mackay City Heart, located in the older city-centre, is also another thriving part of the city. It is the location of choice for many of the region's banks, law, accounting and other professional service firms.