Moranbah, Queensland

Moranbah is a town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia, located on the Peak Downs Highway between Mackay and Clermont. It is a coal mining town and at the 2011 census had a population of 8,965. In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has a large fly-in fly-out population in excess of 1500 who work in Moranbah's mines. Moranbah services the Peak Downs Mine, Goonyella Riverside Mine, Broadmeadow Mine, Moranbah North coal mine, North Goonyella coal mine and several other smaller mines in the region. Although one of the newest towns in the region, its central location and large population has made it the seat of the Isaac Regional Council.HistoryThe first European to explore the region was Ludwig Leichhardt in January 1845 and settled by pastoralists in the 1850s.Moranbah was established in 1969. The town was rapidly expanded in the late 1970s by the Utah Development Company to house mine workers. The town has been featured twice (once in 1977 and again in 2012) on Four Corners, an investigative news program, exploring the effects of Australia's various mining booms on local rural communities.