Whats it like at Mt Isa

[Ivan]

Got a possible chance to work at Mt Isa (Database DBA not as a Miner). Good money but just wondering what it's like up there.

Thanks

Ivan

[Bundalene]

We have friends who lived and worked in Mt. Isa for over 12 years and loved it. (He worked in the Mines). He was also a very keen fisherman and spent most of his spare time up in the Gulf areas...Karumba etc. His wife had no problems getting a job and their 2 children attended school there and got a very good education.

If you like exploring the Gulf and/or fishing etc. it's a good place to have a base. The scenery around Mt. Isa is really lovely and there are a lot of "characters" living there and in the surrounding areas. Also - the NT is only a couple of hours drive:D

Our friends rented at the start and ended up buying their own house in the Isa. When they eventually moved up to Weipa they sold their house for a pretty good profit.

Can't tell you much about the nightlife - except the Irish Club used to be a good place get a meal and a beer...but of course there's no shortage of clubs and pubs there. It gets very hot in summer and pretty cold in winter, but that goes for lots of places in Australia.

There is at least one AULRO member living there so if you hang on I'm sure you"ll get a reply from him.

Good luck,
Erich

[ant_schomacker]

just wondering what it's like up there


A big city... at least compared to Doomadgee :eek:

I haven't spent a lot of time in there, but it's a pleasant enough town, the best reasons to come to the area are outside Isa though, Lake Moondarra, Lawn Hill Gorge NP etc.

Probably not much help, but I'd be happy to live there.

Anthony

[Tank]

I worked up there in the 70's, stinking hot in summer, no chance of getting to the gulf during the Wet (or anywhere North), not too bad during winter (Dry), looking at Google Earth it hasn't changed much.
The pubs were blood baths, everyone smokes in the picture theatre, the dam close by is a good spot for a swim, but that was in the 70's, may have improved a bit, Regards Frank.

[bell1975]

A big city... at least compared to Doomadgee :eek:

I haven't spent a lot of time in there, but it's a pleasant enough town, the best reasons to come to the area are outside Isa though, Lake Moondarra, Lawn Hill Gorge NP etc.

Probably not much help, but I'd be happy to live there.

Anthony

"Doomcity" was what we used to call Doomadgee...but my perspective may have been influenced by my role as a child protection worker with Family Services. I'm guessing you're either a teacher/cop/paramedic/nurse/doctor to be living there? As I wrote that I realised that I've just assumed you were a white fella and not a 'local' Doomadgee fella...there wouldn't be too many Discovery's and Defenders in Doomadgee I doubt. She Toyota country up there eh mate.

Anthony is right though about there being some great places outside of the Isa. Your LR will get you into many of the best camping spots, caves, water holes, historical sites, etc. A great weekend can be had checking out the Maltese Crosses (http://jillrushton.ca/tag/mt-isa/) if you're into that kind of thing.


I worked up there in the 70's, stinking hot in summer, no chance of getting to the gulf during the Wet (or anywhere North), not too bad during winter (Dry), looking at Google Earth it hasn't changed much.
The pubs were blood baths, everyone smokes in the picture theatre, the dam close by is a good spot for a swim, but that was in the 70's, may have improved a bit, Regards Frank.

Times might have changed a bit I'd say. Irish Club used to be a great spot for a drink as mentioned. There's plenty of sporting stuff to get involved with or community groups too.

[crump]

and they give away free lead with every breath!!:D

[Mick-Kelly]

Lived there for three years, glad i did but glad that i dont anymore :p i had a lot of fun experiences from Mornoes to Big Red and everywhere in between. I recommend it for a short time as long as you have an exit strategy and dont become trapped. Its a real mans town if you like chasing barra in the gulf or even at Moondarra and throw in a bit of off roading. Stinking hot in summer and it pelts down rain for about six weeks during the wet and freezing in winter. Houses are genrally crap compared to the east coast. Cant grow anything in the dirt and the air strips the paint off your car.

[Bigbjorn]

Wall & Co. hauled cattle into there for years, and later I sold trucks in Western Qld. Main recreation used to be drinking and fighting. Might be a bit milder today, drinking and playing poker machines maybe.

A typical western inland town just bigger. Hot, wet, cold, in turns. Isolated, with services well below what city dwellers expect. My mum had a heart attack out near Boulia and the Flying Doctor took her to Mt. Isa Hospital. I was in Brisbane and tried to get a flight. No hope, three flights a week and booked out for three weeks.

Considerable Murri population, both permanent and transient with all the problems these people have and create for themselves.

If you have the opportunity to take up lucrative employment there to save a bundle, fine, but have an exit date. Make sure housing is supplied. If possible, have your cook look at the housing & the town before you accept. She may have one look and say" I'm not living in this hole. Take me home." Happened to a mate.

[Bundalene]

Wall & Co. hauled cattle into there for years, and later I sold trucks in Western Qld. Main recreation used to be drinking and fighting. Might be a bit milder today, drinking and playing poker machines maybe.

A typical western inland town just bigger. Hot, wet, cold, in turns. Isolated, with services well below what city dwellers expect. My mum had a heart attack out near Boulia and the Flying Doctor took her to Mt. Isa Hospital. I was in Brisbane and tried to get a flight. No hope, three flights a week and booked out for three weeks.

Considerable Murri population, both permanent and transient with all the problems these people have.

If you have the opportunity to take up lucrative employment there to save a bundle, fine, but have an exit date. Make sure housing is supplied. If possible, have your cook look at the housing & the town before you accept. She may have one look and say" I'm not living in this hole. Take me home." Happened to a mate.


Agree with your last comment - if your partner is not happy there you may have a problem. It takes a strong lady to survive for the long haul.

However, our friends survived for a few years there...and we really enjoyed staying with them when we went through there.

[The ho har's]

and they give away free lead with every breath!!:D

Woa... where did you come back from;)

Haven't heard form you for ages:)

Mt Isa...a nice enough place I suppose...not sure about long term staying, my nephew lasted 4 weeks there had a government job, couldn't get out quick enough..

some great tourist attractions there though;)

Mrs hh:angel:

[crump]

Woa... where did you come back from;)

Haven't heard form you for ages:)


Mrs hh:angel:

prison:D

[bob10]

IT'S NOT KANSAS , TOTO, just be aware you have to have a different attitude , and mind set to where you are at the moment. Brother-in-law and wife have lived there for 30 years, he has passed on, but she has stayed on, because of family reasons. A hard town, with hard people, none of the niceties of of the soft south-east of Qld. You can earn money, but , much like Darwin, or actually more so , you have to get out of town as much as you can to keep your sanity.Since the Gov. made some Indiginous towns dry, the amount of fringe dwellers , and crime rate, has risen. And the NT is not 2 hours away. Bob

[ant_schomacker]

"Doomcity" was what we used to call Doomadgee...but my perspective may have been influenced by my role as a child protection worker with Family Services. I'm guessing you're either a teacher/cop/paramedic/nurse/doctor to be living there? As I wrote that I realised that I've just assumed you were a white fella and not a 'local' Doomadgee fella...there wouldn't be too many Discovery's and Defenders in Doomadgee I doubt.


Not much has changed up here by the sound of it... Yes my partner and I are "non-local", I'm one of the 2 ambos in town and she works at the PCYC. It's quite surprising how many of us there are up here... the local mechanic has a 130 (I think 300tdi), the store manager gets around in a D3, and there's a couple of series vehicles sitting in yards. Plus of course my Puma.

[86mud]

It is a great place.....my mate has worked there as a school teacher for the past 9 years. Met his missus' there, got married and had two kids...

The best part of Mount Isa....the Gregory River Canoe race on the May long weekend. Done that a few times now and planning on going back to reclaim the trophy in 2012.

If your into fishing, there's north to Karumba or a bit further round to Borroloola in the NT...

Cheers
Andrew

[Fish78]

Hi, i was born in the Isa and lived there for 18yrs, family still there.
There are 2 main concerns there at the moment, the fly in /out workers who take the bulk of the income out of the town, what used to be a prospers city is now struggling. the Health issues, Lead in the ground and air, they have had to re-located kindergartens and other public buildings because of lead levels in the dirt on several occasions going back to the 80s through 90s, the media stuff isnt hype, locals know they just ignore it.


I believe there have been some improvements, for example the smoke stacks, big one lead smaller one copper, when the wind changed direction the smoke would blow over the town, if you breathed it in you would get what is like an asthma attack, very hot feeling in the chest. (Copper fumes in the lungs turn into a mild copper sulphate) Lead smoke just poisons you after awhile: ) they have lessened the smoke by pumping it through an extraction process, using it to make fertilizer. used to be twice daily, what feels like an magnitude 4ish earth quake, when the mines blast, the tunnels/drives are all under the town and go down just past 2km deep so the town shakes for 10-20 secs each blast, imnot sure if that still happens, they have moved to open cut more than underground but i think they still blast regularly.

Houses are cheaper but dont sell too often and rent is expensive. Ive not know many people, that have taken any money out of the place, guys i worked with used to earn 100k plus out of school almost, but because of the isolation and lack of things to do, most spend it and them some, lots of ski boats and big bar tabs. (you could leave school at 15 and before you were 21 be on 120K a yr)

It's an ok place if you get used to it, bloody hot, in summer it regularly gets to 47-49 C in the shade, lots of flies with not much to do, shopping is very limited. You can literally cook bacon and eggs on steel man hole covers in the street in summer. and no its never been cold there, lowest ever was about 7c for 5mins lol.

Last i heard there was NO Land Rover dealer or service available there, any issues and you have to ship vehicle 1000km to Townsville for repairs. They used to sell them but went broke after Disco 1 and 2, The Isa is a small community and word got around fast, every one sold them off. We had them at the mine site for the managers and they couldn’t handle the conditions, just fell apart, Cruiser utes last 3mths underground, Patrols 12mths)

Most locals spend a lot of time in the pubs (The Irish club is the best one) but there are many others. Thats really the best thing to do there, its too hot to be outside for long and there is little to no entertainment. Poker machine revenue was the highest per capita in QLD in the early 2000s. One other thing, with the heat and drink it can get a bit testy in the pubs etc, its usual to see several fights on a Fri/Sat night at any pub/club after 10pm. Depending on what circle you mix with, the place can be good or very violent.

4WDing is excellent and at hand 30sec out of town, with limitless tracks to explore, lots and lots of huge and hard hill climbs and there are many places to explore, Poison water hole (Abandoned mine site, imagine a very big hole with water at the bottom, you can jump out of an old mine drive 30ft into the water of walk down for a swim, water is always green from the Copper but harmless, I think) about 10mins out of town. MT Frosty similar but lots more small abandoned mine sites to look at.

Fishing in the Gulf (karumba) is decent its a 6-7hr drive, everything is a long way away, thats one of the issues, Townsville is 10hrs by car, Bris 17-20hrs etc. you can fish locally in the lakes, Moondarra 25km from town has stocked Barra along with lake Julia 90km or so.

Personally i wont go back, its just not the place for me any more, too hot and dry, when you go back after living elsewhere the place just looks dead, behind the Mine site nothing is alive for 100s of km.

Still its an experience, the place is world famous and a truly unique town with unique people, a harsh environment that can take a while to get used to.