Mount Isa Underground Hospital
During WW2 Darwin was bombed by the Japanese and as a precaution the strategically placed Mt Isa decided to build an underground hospital “just in case”It is fully equipped and when the war was over the Hospital was abandoned and left intact (fortunately it was never used !) It is now as it was in 1945 a permanent monument to people who cared Considering it was dug out and built into a hillside it is an extraordinary feat for its time. This days blog is dedicated to those people who under extreme conditions (heat,flies etc) made Mt Isa a safer place to live in
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- Veyr healthy
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- GUZZUNDA,s
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- for the overflow !!
The Buffs Club
Is named after the RAOB (Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes) Society thatI became a member of in the early 60s (Victory Hotel Blackpool) and is strictly men only who are true to the British Crown.This fraternal group has spread around the world BUT modern times dictate membership is on the decline I had good times at meetings and monies taken thru the night were given to various charities Looking into the history of the RAOB I found it interesting it was founded by members of the theatre profession in the 1820s The Buffs is known for its great atmosphere, restaurant & food, coffee shop, gaming lounge, sports bar, bottle shop and function facilities.SO it is pleasing to know whilst here waiting for the bus to be righted we will utilize these facilities to the hilt !!!
FREE Courtesy Bus !! Great !
Mt Isa Queensland (with a little Plagiarism thrown in)
Mount Isa City covers an area of over 43310 square kilometres, making it geographically the second largest city in Australia. With a population of approximately 23500, Mount Isa is a major service centre for North West Queensland, and a thriving city well equipped to satisfy residential, business and industrial needs.
The residents of Mount Isa lack nothing when it comes to shopping. All of the shops and services that one would expect to find in a modern city can be found in Mount Isa.
Major retail chains, such as K-Mart, Coles, Retravision, Harvey Norman, and Woolworths (PLUS good clubs and pubs) are represented together with a wide range of specialist retailers.
In 1923 lone prospector John Campbell Miles, while travelling on a gold prospecting trip to the Northern Territory, camped by the banks of the Leichhardt River. Sampling a nearby rock outcrop, he realised that it was heavily mineralised.and had stumbled on to one of the world’s richest copper, silver, lead and zinc ore bodies.He decided to call his discovery “Mount Isa” after the stories he had heard of the Mount Ida goldfield in Western Australia.Almost 100 years later, the Mount Isa Mine (now owned by Swiss mining giant, Xstrata) is still one of Australia’s largest producers of copper ore.The early pioneers of Mount Isa faced many hardships. The lack of water, remoteness, the summer heat, high costs and scarcity of essential items made life extremely difficult.Despite these hardships, the pioneers endured to create a city that has attracted people from all around the world.
Mount Isa,Mercedes Benz and a broken down Bus
Just completed 100 kms on a top speed of 60 kph!! Power went on the acceleration and we limped into Mount Isa.Pick up the pre arranged mail then look for a Garage.In the mail is a letter from Mercedes Benz advising us a problem has been picked up in their vehicles and if we present the vehicle to a qualified MB mechanic the rogue connection will be replaced free of charge!!After ringing them we were told we needed to have the bus transported to Townsville 1000 kms away at a cost of $3000 !! and WE would have to pay !! After consulting RACQ they informed us the problem stemmed from MB SO they should cover all costs !! (MB originally informed us NO Isa mechanics were qualified to work on their motors) Re consulting MB they in turn will now SHIP the part to Mount Isa and can be fitted by a firm they have now nominated !! Moral is DO NOT be bullied by big firms,seek any advice and follow thru We are now hoping the problem will be solved IF not? back to the drawing board Many thanks to the big bloke with a huge white beard from Mt Isa RACQ for great service and advice There is a redeeming outcome at least by virtue the town has lots of courtesy buses and lots of club & pubs !! Blogs my be held over for a while Stay Tuned !!
Burke and Wills Roadhouse
In 1860 several men traveled 5,000 kilometres from Melbourne to the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria and then back to the Depôt Camp at Cooper Creek. Seven men died in the attempt, including the leader, Robert O’Hara Burke and the third in command William John Wills. Only one of the four men who reached the north coast, John King, survived to return to Melbourne.This Roadhose has a population of 5 and they are staff !! We met a great couple and had an interesting night over a few beers.Our next door neighbours was a group working for the charity Rare Diseases in Kids and were cycling around Australia in ONE day they cycled 340 kms !! having already contributed over a million dollars towards their cause The cyclist were very friendly young men and had a great support team that consists of THREE Jayco vans just like ours !!! Website is http://www.cycleforsmile.com.au/C4S_Team.html Support them and give em a wave if spotted
Onwards towards Cloncurry
Leaving Karumba was a little bit harder this time as we have made lots of friends (I love this concept of having new neighbours daily doesnt give much time for fall outs !)People with their boats were out in force and to see rows and rows of trailers parked alongside the ramps was incredible Hawks circle above in great numbers above us and are extremely safe.Sadly lots of animals are car killed and not necessarily by speed,we cameback to the camp late one night and the road was alive with kangaroos !!(no we didnt hit one) Driving into and out of Karumba we spotted quite a few dead wild black pigs.Travelling away from Karumba we unfortunately hit and killed a gant hawk that headed straight for us out of the sky and in no way could I avoid it !!We are also finding it difficult to get a signal here in the outback onocassions BUT the blog WILL go on!
Karumba Sunset
These sunsets are magical I will let the pics do the talking
Karumba, Arafuen Sea on the Gulf of Carpenteria
This place is magical and is Outback Seaside.The place is surrounded by river inlets that are chocablock with Mangroves Plenty of fishing,crabbing and wild life in abundance (I’m absolutely amazed at the number of Hawks here Never seen as many)On the road in we sighted a huge Eagle feasting on a dead Kangaroo ! Camera was NOT at hand !! Main industry is iron ore and lead The road into Karumba (sealed) has only been in existance for 11 yrs increasing holidaymakers from 5000 to 100000!!On one particular beach was a HUGE stranded dead Grouper fish and from the banks looked like a statue!! To reach it and inspect with a camera we had to go over mud flats and when I sank bollock deep into the Ooze I thought a salt water crocodile might have spotted me struggling to get out !! (Annie of course was falling about laughin !!) I have NEVER seen a fish as large as this one !! Sunsets are brilliant with lots of people sat in the beach front pub viewing & photographing the spectacle ( I will do a slide next blog)We have once again met interesting people especially in the pubs !! One 81 yr old has 6 beers EVERY night and travels with his wife everywhere.His words, I an NOT going to sit on my arse and vegetate when there is SO much to see( hes from Broken Hill and tells lots of stories)
Croyden the last stop before the Gulf of Carpenteria
We stayed overnight at our last stop over before we arrive at Karumba on the Arafua Sea in the Gulf of Carpenteria.There is a lot of evidence of Croyden being a Pioneer town and there are quite a few statues around to remind us of days gone by. A giant statue of a fish greets us on town entry (Aussies are good at building huge monuments that include fruit animals and fish !! A HUGE life size model of a crocodile sits in the street centre and apparently it is a genuine size !!The picture shows its true size and sadly a bullet brought the creatures life to an end (we humans are quite good at destroying great things ) by 1887, the town’s population had reached 7,000. Gold was to be the main production and that was exhausted by early 1930 Population can now be measured in low hundreds It great to see some “outback” events being held here and I have included the latest town flyer
Places we’ve been to on our travels
these are just a few of the places visited (and are in travelling order)I have missed out quite a few Aboriginal names coz they are too long !!This particular Blog page is for my own records of where we have been It is also a good way of jogging my memory !! NO pics this time,only name places !!Back to normal on me next blog Some great pics taken around The Gulf of Carpenteria
DONGARA .GERALDTON .CARNARVON .CORAL BAY .EXMOUTH .NINGALOO .CANE .RIVER .KARRATHA .ROEBOURNE .PORT HEADLAND .KANGAN .PILBARA .MUMJANA .KARAJINI .TOM PRICE .PARDOO .80 MILE BEACH .BROOME .DERBY .WUNJANA GORGE .TUNNEL CREEK .FITZROY CROSSING .LOUISA DOWNS .HALLS CREEK .PURNULULU .BUNGLE BUNGLES .WARNUM(TURKEY CREEK) .DOON DOON .WYNDHAM .KUNUNURRA .LAKE ARGYLE .TIMBER CREEK .WILLEROO .KATHERINE .PINE CREEK .BACHELOR .LITCHFIELD .DARWIN .HUMPTY DOO .JABIRU .KAKADU .MATARANKA .LARRIMAH .DALY WATERS .DUNMARRA .ELLIOT .HELEN SPRINGS .TENNANT CREEK .DEVILS MARBLES .WARRABRI .WYCLIFFE .TI TREE .ALICE SPRINGS .ORANGE CREEK .KINGS CANYON .ULURU .KULGARA .AGNES REEK .MARLA .COOBER PEDY .WOOMERA .QUORN .WILPENA .PARACHILNA .WELLMINGTON .ORROROO .PETERBOROUGH .HALLET .BURRA .WAIKERIE .RENMARM .MILDURA .OUYEN .LOXTON .MURRAY BRIDGE .MOUNT BARKER .WULLUNGA .GOOLWA .SAILEM BEND .PINAROO .TOOLEYBUC .DENILIQUIN .NARRANDERS .WEST WYALONG .CONDOBOLIN .FORBES .CANOWINDRA .ORANGE .WELLINGTON .DUBBO .GILGANDRA .COONABARABRAN .NARRABRI .MOREE .GOONDIWINDI .DALBY .KINGARONG .CHERBOURG .NANGOO .CROWS NEST .TOOWOOMBA .WARWICK .STANTHORPE .KILLARNEY .CASINO .NIMBIN .LISMORE .MURWILLUMBAH .BOONLAH .NERANG .BEENDLEIGH .SURFERS PARADISE .BRISBANE .SUNSET COAST.CABOOLTURE .MAROOCHYDORE .NOOSA HEADS .GYMPIE ,TIN CAN BAY .RAINBOW BEACH .MARYBOROUGH .HERVEY BAY .BARGARA .BUNDBERG .1770 .AGNES WATER .GLADSTONE .MOUNT MORGAN .ROCKHAMPTON .YEPPOON .EMU PARK .CLAIRVIEW .SARINA .MACKAY .PROSERPINE .BOWER .AYR .TOWNSVILLE .BALGAL BEACH .CARDWELL .TULLY .INNISFAIL .GORDONVALE .EDMONTON .CAIRNS .PORT DOUGLAS .CAPE TRIBULATION .KURANDA .MAREEBA .ATHERTON TABLE LANDS .RAVENSHUE .MILLA MILLA .MOUNT .GARNET .40 MILE SCRUB . MOUNT SURPRISE .GEORGETOWN .CROYDEN .NORMANTON .KARUMBA
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 