We left Townsville 18th April after working there for 13 weeks planning to travel to Mt. Isa, Tenant Creek, Katherine and on to Darwin. However 60 km west of Charters Towers we had to turn back as there was 800mm water over the road at Shovel Creek, so we spent the night in Charters Towers and set off after checking with the local council and only 20mm was over the road so we drove carefully and all was well so on stopping at Julia Creek for petrol @ $1.69 per litre and a sandwich for lunch. This is a popular stop but all there was was the fuel stop cafe. The drive was very scenic due to the excellent wet season. There was water lying on the side of the road in several locations and the magnificent ochre rocky Mt Selwyn were covered in green trees and grasses.
We had 2 nights in Mt. Isa - staying in a cabin in a caravan park. dale visited his parents and grandmother's graves as he had been wishing to do for some time. We went to the Outback Museum as we were told there was an audiovisual presentation of William Purdy and his input into the commencement of the Mount Isa Mines as a prospector with Campbell and Miles but it was out of order.
The Underground Hospital was fascinating - it was built during WW11 when the Japanese were bombing Northen Australia. It was never utilised as a hospital but some nurses used to sleep there when on night duty or the babies would be taken there when temperatures were extreme. It has dirt floors, bunk beds(so much for infection control), the old mixture bottles, bassinets, placetal disposal unit(never seen one before) and the old anaesthetic masks and machine.
The hospital was not known about until they were extending the current hospital.
The entry was quite hidden in the hill behind the hospital.
This is one of the tent houses where the miners lived, it had tin walls, calico to cover the window spaces and a framework of tin over the roof in an attempt to keep it cooler.
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