General News
29 January, 2025
Sue Wicks named Mount Isa's Citizen of the Year
Mount Isa City Council honoured more than a dozen dedicated community members on Australia Day.
Mount Isa’s Citizen of the Year Sue Wicks has a personal journey that would be familiar to many across the city.
Ms Wicks said she arrived in Mount Isa about two decades ago with a plan to only remain in the North West for two years before moving on.
“I came to Mount Isa for a job, of course,” she told North West Weekly on Sunday.
“I worked for Father Mick at Centacare with the same two-year career plan that everyone has.
“Yet all these years later I am still here in Mount Isa.”
Ms Wicks said it was the community spirit of the Mount Isa people – many who had also travelled across the state, interstate or from overseas to take up work in the North West – that encouraged her to plant firm roots in the city.
She admitted she was surprised when she realised she had been named the Mount Isa Citizen of the Year at the 2025 Australia Day Awards.
She said she was impressed by the list of nominations and the contributions each individual had made to the wellbeing of our community.
“I looked at all the people winning awards and I know that all these people are doing great things for the community,” she said.
“I just thought ‘wow, none of us doing these things for awards’, we do it because this is Mount Isa and we have a great spirit of mateship here – people in Mount Isa are really looking out for one another.”
When making the announcement at the awards presentation ceremony at a packed Civic Centre on Sunday morning, mayor Peta MacRae said that Ms Wicks was an “indispensable, long-time member of the Zonta Club of Mount Isa”.
“She leads a vibrant team that are always doing events in Mount Isa to raise funds for worthy causes,” Cr MacRae said.
“Sue coordinates events for Zonta, ensuring people are on board for all events and all shifts are covered.
“She is also famous for her fudge, which she bakes to sell for Zonta at events.
“The founding member of the Mount Isa Zonta Club, Cherry Brosnan, has described Sue as the thinktank and ideas person of the group, and says she never stops coming up with projects to improve the club. It’s a testament to Sue’s dedication to the Zonta Club that last year she was named the Mount Isa Zontian of the Year for the second time.
“In preparation for Mount Isa’s 100th year in 2023, Sue was instrumental in getting specially made bottles of port to help mark the year’s celebrations.
“So successful was this venture that from an anticipated demand of 200 or so bottles, the Zonta Club ended up selling more than 1200 bottles throughout the year.
“She also prepares meals at the Salvation Army each week for the less fortunate.”
While praised for her central role in the group, Ms Wicks admits her association with the Zonta Club had more pragmatic origins.
“I was new to town and didn’t know anyone and thought Zonta might be a good way to meet people,” she said.
“When I heard about Zonta, I thought it would be as good as any other community group, so I decided to give it a go.
“As soon as I found out it was all about making the world a better place for women and girls, it really tied in well with what I felt and what I wanted to do.”
Ms Wicks encouraged others across the community, especially those who have newly arrived in the city, to consider volunteering their time to one of the many local groups.
“I love the community here – it is a great place to live – there are lots of opportunities to get involved and help out with lots of different community events,” she said.
“There are so many groups you can get involved with and give back to the community.”
MOUNT ISA WINNERS
Citizen of the Year
Sue Wicks
Young Citizen of the Year
Ashlea Lavell
Senior Citizen of the Year
Keith Ballard
Senior Sportspeople Award
Sunny Raitava & Allan Hazle
Junior Sportspeople Award
Jean Lavell & Yasmin Wyld-Hill
Arts and Cultural Award
Shaylee McGregor
Community Event of the Year
Great Northern Rodeo Series
Spirit of Mount Isa Awards
Jay Morris, Aubrey Liyanage, Lee Allice, Dave Bartolo, Phoebe Ryder, Zara Kuskopf, John Davies and Kate Fischer.