Happy Valley is a suburb of the town of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Happy Valley had a population of 733 people.

Geography

The Leichhardt River flows north–south through the town of Mount Isa, dividing the suburbs of the town into "mineside" (west of the Leichhardt River) and "townside" (east of the Leichhardt River). Happy Valley is a "mineside" suburb.

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 1971 new facilities were built at a new location and the school was renamed Happy Valley State School.

Demographics

In the 2016 census, Happy Valley had a population of 767 people.

In the 2021 census, Happy Valley had a population of 733 people.

Education

Happy Valley State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Brilliant Street (20°44′42″S 139°29′28″E / 20.7449°S 139.4910°E / -20.7449; 139.4910 (Happy Valley State School)). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 402 students with 29 teachers (27 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 384 students with 30 teachers (29 full-time equivalent) and 16 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent).

There is no secondary school in Happy Valley. The nearest government secondary school is Spinifex State College which has its junior campus in neighbouring Parkside to the north and its senior campus in Pioneer to the north-east.