Day 8 Chilling @ The Isa
Back in the sixties and early seventies we used to do a
subject at school called Social Studies. In those days there was this (now outdated)
idea that it was important to teach kids a whole lot of facts about Australia,
in the hope that one day they might find them useful. Homework included learning
the names of the rivers in NSW or locating
the kauri forests in WA on a map or labelling the major industries in
Queensland. Today as we drive into Mt Isa our Effective Social Studies textbook comes to life. Mt Isa is Queensland’s
most important mining town and one of the most productive single mines in the
world, producing lead, silver, cooper and zinc.
Approaching town, Glencoe’s huge Mt Isa Mine, is on our right.
The impressive 274m chimney stack is the visual centrepiece of a huge open cut
and underground mine. Mining is rarely pretty, but its hard not to be impressed
with the size of this mine. The original town of Mt Isa is located directly
across the street from the mine, the newer part is just across the Leichhardt River. The river is dammed
upstream to provide the town’s water supply so most of the time the river is as
dry as the Todd (in Alice Springs).
After a week in remote NT we are excited by the prospect of replenishing
our dwindling food supplies. After a quick drive around the town and the mine
we turn up to the local Woolies at 5.01pm on a Saturday afternoon to face a
devastating reality, we are in Queensland and Woolies and Coles close at 5.00pm
and won’t reopen until Monday. Fortunately, a local corner store sells us some sausages,
frozen vegies, microwave rice and a chocolate Bavarian pie. Once again we are eating
like kings.
Tonight the temperature will drop to 13 degrees, so we
really are…chilling @ ‘The Isa’.
Back in the sixties and early seventies we used to do a
subject at school called Social Studies. In those days there was this (now outdated)
idea that it was important to teach kids a whole lot of facts about Australia,
in the hope that one day they might find them useful. Homework included learning
the names of the rivers in NSW or locating
the kauri forests in WA on a map or labelling the major industries in
Queensland. Today as we drive into Mt Isa our Effective Social Studies textbook comes to life. Mt Isa is Queensland’s
most important mining town and one of the most productive single mines in the
world, producing lead, silver, cooper and zinc. 
Approaching town, Glencoe’s huge Mt Isa Mine, is on our right.
The impressive 274m chimney stack is the visual centrepiece of a huge open cut
and underground mine. Mining is rarely pretty, but its hard not to be impressed
with the size of this mine. The original town of Mt Isa is located directly
across the street from the mine, the newer part is just across the Leichhardt River. The river is dammed
upstream to provide the town’s water supply so most of the time the river is as
dry as the Todd (in Alice Springs). 
After a week in remote NT we are excited by the prospect of replenishing
our dwindling food supplies. After a quick drive around the town and the mine
we turn up to the local Woolies at 5.01pm on a Saturday afternoon to face a
devastating reality, we are in Queensland and Woolies and Coles close at 5.00pm
and won’t reopen until Monday. Fortunately, a local corner store sells us some sausages,
frozen vegies, microwave rice and a chocolate Bavarian pie. Once again we are eating
like kings. 
Tonight the temperature will drop to 13 degrees, so we
really are…chilling @ ‘The Isa’. 
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