[1] The Wee MacGregor tram and rail complex and the former towns of Ballara and Hightville are located in the Argylla Ranges between Cloncurry and Mount Isa in North West Queensland, in the traditional country of the Kalkadoon people.

[23] By July 1908 the MacGregor Company was employing 70 men, not including mine officials, and during 1908 a telephone link with Cloncurry was established and tenders were called for a mail service.

[45][1] In June 1911 the MacGregor Company sought government support for a shorter branch line, this time linking to the state railway being built southwest from Malbon towards Sulieman Creek.

[53][52][54][55][56][1] Despite the Labor Party's concern about a company gaining a competitive advantage from a private railway line, The Wee MacGregor Tramway Agreement Act 1912 was passed on 4 December 1912.

[59] By April 1913, all formation works and cuttings were finished to the Malbon River, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of MacGregor Junction, which by then had a telegraph office, a general store, slaughter yards, butcher and baker.

The remainder of the route to Hightville, and beyond to the Wee MacGregor mine, would now be traversed by a 2-foot (0.61 m) gauge tramway, which could accommodate tighter curves and steeper grades than the railway.

[71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][1] Hightville slowly declined after the 1913 decision to shorten the railway and relocate its terminus to Ballara, although a sale of 45 town lots still occurred in May 1914, with prices for a 1⁄4 acre (0.10 ha) ranging from £5 to £25.

[89][1] The 2-foot (0.61 m) tramway ran west from the triangular junction at Ballara, over a raised concrete ore transfer stage, past the terminus of the railway, and then curved north.

[108] The route of the 2 foot tramway, from the top of the turning triangle at Ballara to the Wee MacGregor mine, appears to cover about 6.1 km.

By March 1919 it was reported that the price slump and a scarcity of workers had "dealt a knockout blow to all", although a new shaft was still being sunk on the Wee MacGregor mine.

[116] Copper production on the Cloncurry field fell in 1919, and only one train a week ran to Ballara, with 2170 tons of freight carried during the year - a 90% reduction from 1918.

[120] The Hampden Company blamed industrial action, high wages and increasing railway freight rates for making its low-grade mines unprofitable.

[123] The train service to Ballara dropped to once a month from February 1921, when there were still 17 families in the town, plus "copper gougers" (small mine operators) in the area.

[138][1] Although the tramway and railway had closed, and Hightville and Ballara were abandoned, copper gougers retained an interest in the Wee MacGregor area over the following decades.

[1] The Wee MacGregor tramway and rail complex and the former towns of Ballara and Hightville (c. 1909-1929), is located approximately 17 km south of the Barkly Highway, roughly halfway between Mt Isa and Cloncurry.

Collectively the remnant earthworks, structures, archaeological features and artefact scatters are a physical legacy of early 20th century mining transport infrastructure and associated occupation in the area.

The place has the potential to reveal important information about the construction and operation of remote mining transport infrastructure, and the people who lived and worked there.

After a tight curve, the formation winds north, following and crossing a creek line, then to the east of the Hightville Cemetery, and includes the abutments of several bridges.

The formation continues through the increasingly steep and elevated terrain, around the eastern and northern sides of Hightville, where the former Wallaroo Mine line branched to the northeast.

North of Hightville, the formation passes through a tunnel and a series of tight curves form a loop around a hilltop at the northern end, finishing to the east of the former Wee MacGregor Mine.

[1] While the tracks are no longer extant (removed 1921), the tramway formation is evidenced by earthworks including over 40 embankments and cuttings, drystone walls, culverts and eight bridge abutments.

The majority are pre-cast concrete pipe culverts, some with stone surrounding the outlets, of varying sizes (approximately 300mm-750mm diameter) and single and double-pipe configurations.

[1] Two substantial off-form box culverts are located at the railway turning triangle and near the approach to Wee Macgregor Mine.

Aligned north-south, it comprises a rectangular 13.5m x 6.3m two-tier building footprint of earth platforms surrounded by stone that is loosely coursed in some areas.

Evidence of domestic and commercial premises, concentrated along former Ainscow Street, includes earth, stone and concrete building foundations and platforms, and associated glass, metal and ceramic artefacts.

[1] A row of apparent shops and/or dwellings, visible along the southern side of former Ainscow Street in historical photographs of the town, are evidenced by an alignment of building footings and associated artefacts.

The Wee MacGregor tram and rail complex and the former towns of Ballara and Hightville (c. 1909-29), which includes the well-engineered route of a 2 ft (0.6m) gauge tramway and the terminus of a 3-foot-6-inch (1.07 m) narrow gauge railway, is important in demonstrating the major role of copper mining in the Queensland economy in the early 20th century, and the importance of railways to the economic viability of remote mines.

[1] Archaeological investigations of the extensive tramway formation and adjacent railway terminus may address important research questions relating to: layout, design, material and construction responses to the remoteness and physical challenges of the local environment, including comparison between the surveyed and constructed tramway route; and the design and operation of dual-gauge mining transport networks.

[1] The Ballara and Hightville town sites may facilitate detailed studies relating to the social dynamics of the community and its development, interaction, and decline.

Archaeological investigations, including comparative studies, can inform understandings of domestic and commercial activities, living conditions, the layout of the settlements, construction methods and the use of materials.