It was time to take it easy and have a bit of a rest. I went back to the information centre in Mt Isa where they have two museum galleries.
The main gallery called contained history about the local mining as well as the forming of the township. Mt Isa was formed around the initial discovery of lead in 1923. At the time Isa was (and still is to an extent) very remote. The first batch of ores was dug up and transported by horse and carriage for processing. The transport company took no upfront payment, but agreed to take a cut if the ore turned out to be any good.
Mt Isa Mines Ltd was formed by individual prospectors combining their claim certificates into a coordinated larger effort. This made them more efficient and profitable. In 1929 the camels had had enough and a rail line was opened into Mt Isa. This became the state government's most profitable railway line. The mine also helped build the town with schools, stores, water etc.
The museum also contained other odd interesting items, a few pictures are below. I believer the Telecom desk was for investigating faults, it didn't have a sign but the volt meter and switch labels seemed to fit with fault troubleshooting.
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| English for Newcomers to Australia | Telecom faults desk |
In the afternoon I purchased myself a true Aussie outback souvenir, an Akubra hat. The store I went to had an excellent range of hats, with many styles to choose from!
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| Looking like I belong in the outback |
Day 27 - Saturday August 16th - Mt Isa 3
This morning I packed up and headed to a local cafe for some morning tea. I also stocked up on non-perishables ready for my journey into the west. Mt Isa is the biggest town I will see until Alice Springs. It's essential to carry enough water to survive in the event of a breakdown.
Leaving Mt Isa I visited Lake Moondarra just out of town. The lake was built in the 1950's by Mt Isa Mines to be a reliable water source for the town. Without water there would be no miners and without miners there would be no mine. At the time it was Australia's largest privately funded water scheme.
I enjoyed the view and had lunch here. In the past there was a Surf Life Saving Club! I don't think there would have been much surf, but there was sand! Thousands of truck loads of sand was transported to the lake. Most of which has washed to the bottom of the lake.
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| Lake Moondarra - dam wall to the right, picnic area (and beach) to the left. |
I continued my drive out of Mt Isa over to Camooweal. Along the way I stopped to read about the old Barkly Highway. During World War II supply routes were needed within Australia. It was originally constructed as gravel in 1942, however due to the amount of traffic it was sealed in 1943. This part of the road was replace in 2008.
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| New and old Barkly Highway roads |
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| These trucks arrived in the afternoon, they had come from SA and needed to wait a few days to be escorted into Mt Isa | |
Tomorrow I will leave Queensland and drive into the Northern Territory.
