H B Waldegrave

Desert Wealth H B Waldegrave

This is a story that tells of the onset of this soon-to-become discovery and development of Mount Isa. It's just the simple truth or as near as possible to the truth after the passage of so many years. The memory of people is very short, and not much was recorded in the early days when this story started, which is not much different from any other mining town. It has experienced the same growing pains, sadness and laughter, tragedy and success. The sordid side of life had infiltrated into its early civic framework, but they persevered and gradually straightened out the kinks. The life of the mine itself, experts predicted, was anywhere up to a hundred years. Some even claimed that the early workings had barely scratched the surface! Both civic and industrial foundations were based on these predictions, and my father spent several years with the people of Mount Isa, worked with them, was invited into their homes, accepted as one of them-at least that's what it felt like to him. They told him their stories freely and with a feeling of genuine pride. It was their town. They'd helped to build it, a thriving western town, the start of what you see today. It's just the simple truth or as near as possible to the truth after the passage of so many years. The memory of people is very short, and not much was recorded in the early days when this story started, which is not much different from any other mining town. It has experienced the same growing pains, sadness and laughter, tragedy and success. The sordid side of life had infiltrated into its early civic framework, but courage and endeavor gradually straightened out the kinks. And now, if you go through Mount Isa, it's hard to imagine what and how this was achieved as nobody really remembers these days, and everyone who travels through the mining town should take the time to check out the history of this era.