page_title: Mackay Harbour, Queensland
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mackay Harbour, Queensland / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of Mackay Harbour, ca. 1939. Photographs shows the man-made harbour at Mackay. This photograph is an original Murray View postcard, no. 15.
context_page_description: Mackay Harbour is a coastal locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Mackay Harbour had a population of 555 people.
context_section_description: When Mackay was first settled, ships came into port in the Pioneer River. However, by 1884, there were problems accommodating larger ships in the river. Although a new port had been desired since 1887, there was no progress in building one until l the Australian Government provided a grant of £250,000 and a loan of £1,000,000 in 1933. Work started on the port with the laying of a foundation stone on 14 September 1935. On 27 August 1939, the new deep water port was officially opened by Queensland Premier William Forgan Smith. It was an occasion for extensive celebrations in Mackay.
  In 1989 a bulk sugar terminal was opened and became the largest storage facility for sugar in the world.
  In 1989, the Mackay Marina opened on the Harbour Beach shoreline with the Marina Village being a residential and tourist precinct.
caption: Aerial view of Mackay Harbour, circa 1939
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