Mount Isa Underground Hospital and Museum

The first hospital in Mount Isa was a row of tents operated by the company from the earliest years of mining operations. Mount Isa Mines opened a 40 bed Community Hospital on the leases in 1929. Eventually another hospital was built on the Hospital reserve in town. With the expanded hospital complex it was realised with two competing hospitals and funding for both that neither could be run efficiently and residents were encouraged to use the state run hospital. The mine hospital was effectively reduced to a casualty and first-aid station. With the advent of World War II the impact on Australia was not great until the bombing in 1942 of Darwin. The work on defending the top end of Australia caused the influx of thousands of American troops into Northwest Queensland from April 1942. With the bombing of the Darwin Hospital, precautions were taken to protect the Mount Isa district hospital in the event of an air raid.