Mackay

Mackay, city in northeastern Australia, on the Coral Sea in the state of Queensland. Lying at the mouth of the Pioneer River between Townsville and Rockhampton, Mackay is a large deepwater port and the focus of the Australian sugar industry. One-third of all Australian sugar is shipped from its docks. The area around Mackay is agricultural, producing sugarcane, tropical fruit (especially pineapples), and dairy products. There is also some coal mining. Mackay has become a resort area, with access to the Great Barrier Reef, long sandy beaches, rain forests in Eungella National Park, and cliffs and beaches at Cape Hillsborough National Park. Mackay is served by the coastal Bruce Highway, a rail line that parallels the highway, and an airport. The town is also the seat of the Sugar Research Institute (opened in 1953). Mackay was founded in 1862 by Scottish captain John Mackay, who had explored the region in 1859 and 1860. It was designated a city in 1918, the same year cyclones and floods destroyed much of the settlement. Population (2001 estimate) 57,649.