Mount Isa City Council says it is about to turn its attention to the abandoned site of the former Frank Aston Museum.
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Mayor Joyce McCulloch said the site was repurposed many times after the museum closed, with community groups using portions of the land, but now stands unused and has become a safety risk with the site a target of arson attacks, trespassing, and vandalism.
“This site has unfortunately become a hotspot for illegal activity and has become a safety risk for our community, and has become costly to secure and maintain,” Cr McCulloch said.
“We have salvaged what we can from the site and now it’s time for a fresh start.”
Cr McCulloch said that in recent years Council had removed historical pieces of equipment.
“We have given them a new life at Outback at Isa and now it is time to strip the site of any dangers and look towards future redevelopment,” she said.
“Over the next few weeks we will be pulling down some abandoned buildings and doing extensive work on the landscaping and surrounds of the area.”
Cr McCulloch said the site had been identified as having great potential for commercial redevelopment.
“It is time to make the necessary changes to the site and realise the potential that it may have in the coming years,” she said.
The former Frank Aston Museum on the site, which had numerous mining and minerology exhibits as well as Aboriginal artefacts, was a Rotary Club project which was handed over to council in 2001 with the intention of integrating it with the then-planned Outback at Isa with the help of a $4m contribution by Arts Queensland.
However the museum never re-opened and the site, east of Mount Isa Plaza, was later used sporadically for night markets and community groups.
In 2013 the then Tony McGrady administration announced a plan to remove the hill, move the remaining equipment across to Outback at Isa and redevelop the site for commercial use.
The abandoned and locked up site has since been the scene of a number of arson, trespass and vandalism incidents.