Happy Valley, Queensland (Mount Isa)


Happy Valley is a suburb of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia.

Geography

Happy Valley is bounded to the west by the Great Northern railway, to the north by Twenty-third Avenue, and to the east roughly by the Leichhardt River.

History

The suburb was named in September 1973 and is the ironic name given to the area by the population during the Great Depression, when a shanty town existed in the area.
Isa Mines State School opened on 3 May 1932 with 79 students and head-teacher Mr Phail and assistant teacher Miss Bennett. The original school building had 2 rooms with verandahs on the front and one side. By the end of the first month there were 99 students. Rising student numbers necessitated the user of the verandahs as classrooms resulting in the addition of two more schoolrooms and an office in 1933. In 1938 a fifth classroom was added for the primary school with another room for secondary students who were taught by high school teacher Les Jacobs. In the early 1970s new facilities were built and the school was renamed Happy Valley State School.

Education

Happy Valley State School is a primary school for boys and girls operated by the Queensland Government at Brillian Street. In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 402 students with 29 teachers and 15 non-teaching staff.