 Gumby’s parents came to the Isa for a visit so we took them on the “Mount Isa City Deluxe Tour” created by Shovel and Gumby. We started the day watching the sun rise at Telstra Hill, then after breakfast in Florence, drove around seeing sites such as the Mica Creek Power Station, Casa Grand, the Copper Mine and Black Rock open cut and the Lead Mine where Shovel works. We grabbed pies from Grant’s the best pies in town and headed to Lake Moondarra. Next on the Deluxe Tour we ventured out to Three Steps for a bit of Aboriginal rock art viewing then back into town for some r'n'r before dinner. We had a lovely dinner at the Ibis with the parents and Shovel’s sister. We finished off the night at the lookout, marvelling at the brightly lit city.
 Meet Cherry our new Holden Trailblazer.
Unfortunately Rex was having technical difficulties and becoming a money pit, so we went car shopping, found Cherry and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. Rex will go down in history as a beast. He took us off-road to places we didn’t think he’d go and towed Florence to the Isa. He was an awesome car, but was becoming a bit unreliable. Farewell Rex. Welcome Cherry to the Shovel and Gumby family.
The first flight of what is now known as the Royal Flying Doctors Service flew from Cloncurry in 1928. In the early 1900’s Flynn worked in Outback Queensland setting up hostels and saw the hardships of people living on the land. His vision was to provide a ‘mantle of safety’ for people of the bush. The museum was a fascinating insight into the man himself and of the beginnings of the RFDS. We learnt Qantas donated the first aircraft to the service and that pilots communicated with people on the ground by dropping cans painted red with a red and white stripe strip, containing messages to assist them to land and get the patient out efficiently. Many of the service’s pioneers were heroic and the stories inspirational. Flynn died of cancer in 1951, but his legacy will forever fly on.
The museum showcases relics from the now defunct uranium mining township of Mary Kathleen, closed in 1983 and Kuridala, another mining township, which closed in 1928. The museum also boasts Burke and Wills artefacts from their ill-fated 1863 journey to the Gulf and includes a tree stump with the carved initials, B + W CIII. This camp and the subsequent tree, were discovered out of town on the way to Mount Isa, where an obelisk has been erected in its place. There is also a controversial water bottle, said to be that of Burke’s, but is most likely a replica… although no one seems to be quite sure…
2017 marks 150 years since Ernest Henry discovered rich deposits of copper and kicked off the Great Australia Mine, that put Cloncurry on the map. To celebrate Cloncurry’s mining success, the council has been hosting a series of special events and we were grateful to be a part of one - a ride on a Steam Train! Gumby and I surprised my (Shovel’s) mum for her birthday and brought my Parents out to Cloncurry to experience a bit of history. The train was manufactured in the 1950’s and was the last steam train ever built. The carriages were all different, their build dates ranged from as early as the early 1900’s up to the 1970’s. Every carriage was beautifully preserved, it was a moving history museum and the outback Queensland scenery outside filled the windows with endless bush colours. Fascinating experience and loads of fun. We also pulled up at the Chinaman Creek Dam lookout for some rock chucking and views, then stretched the legs at Burke and Wills memorial.
There are two ways to head to Spring Creek, through the intense Rigby Falls track or past Rosebud Dam towards Fountain Springs, which is much smoother. We took the easy way past Rosebud, which led us to our destination and what was also a watering hole for the Cobb and Co Coach horses back in the early 1900’s. Spring Creek is certainly an oasis, trees and unusual plants blossom from the rich water supply that is fed from a natural spring about 1 kilometre further upstream. Remains of rusted out bed frames, smashed glass and porcelain nestled in the back bushes allows your imagination to step back in time and wonder what it was like here in earlier times.
 A track further up takes you to Trafalgar Mine, the lease has been re-operated in more recent times with some equipment sitting around, traces of blue malacite stone and higher views of the land make it worth the detour.
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November 2023
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