Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about 970 km (603 mi) north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar. There is controversy about the geographic location of the region, with most people referring it as a part of North Queensland, with some, even the Bureau of Meteorology, calling it the far north end of Central Queensland.

Mackay is surrounded by coastline, with 31 beaches within short driving distance. Situated close to the city are Illawong, Far, and Town beaches. Harbour Beach, the most popular, locally patrolled swimming beach built is renowned for its locality to fishing hotspots and is located adjacent to the newly developed Mackay Marina. Further north of the city are Bucasia, Dolphin Heads, Blacks Beach, Shoal Point, and Eimeo, otherwise known as the Northern Beaches.

The City is served by Mackay Airport, in which Qantas, Virgin Blue, Jetstar Airways and Tiger Airways offer flights to Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, as well as to regional destinations such as Geelong, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and Gladstone. Macair previously provided a limited service into and out of Mackay for mining companies, before it ceased operations in 2009.

Mackay Transit Coaches operates from North Mackay in the North, down to South Mackay, in the South. The areas with the best service coverage is Mackay CBD.

 
Sport

The Mackay Cutters rugby league team played their first season in 2008 in the Queensland Cup and will act as a feeder team to the North Queensland Cowboys. The Whitsunday Miners Football Club represents the Mackay region in the Queensland State League and act as a feeder club to the North Queensland Fury FC. Content via Wikipedia