Thursday 26th June

This late arrival of the sun rise makes us sleep in. It also may as a result of the sampling of red wine the previous evening! No, I believe it is because we are so far west of the coast. No wonder daylight saving would not work out here. It is similar in Western Australia when you compare those locations near the eastern border with those on the western border. There is a vast time of sun rise difference.

Today, we first went to the Mt. Isa School of the Air. It is an amazing concept, using telephone hook ups these days, and allows children the opportunity to receive education from Prep or pre-school to year 10. In days gone by, the children used the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) High Frequency (HF) Radio system for their lessons.

There are specific teachers chosen to teach various grades and later also various subjects. Even German is taught to the children. There are about 200 children reliant on the Mt. Isa School of the Air. They are as far away as Normanton in the north, Birdsville in the south, Brunette Downs in the west and quite a way east. Some are as close as 60 kms away but have no bus service.

We were privileged to sit in on a class of Prep children, ages 5 or just 6, with their teacher, Miss Forbes. It was really fascinating to watch Miss Forbes react with her class. She is a first year out teacher, who grew up at Warwick, Qld. She is just completing her first half year as a teacher. She is very dedicated to those children.

Listening to those children with their replies was really interesting and, as you can imagine, some of the replies were priceless. Miss Forbes sometimes was amazing to see her compose herself after some of the comments. It was an education to us to watch this in action and also how the mail out of subject material is handled, especially with most children having 1 mail service each week and during the wet season, may be not mail out until March.

When we left the School of the Air, we then went for a tour of the Underground Hospital. With the advent of World War II the impact on Australia was not great until the bombing in 1942 of Darwin. The work on defending the top end of Australia caused the influx of thousands of American troops into Northwest Queensland from April 1942. With the bombing of the Darwin Hospital, precautions were taken to protect the Mount Isa district hospital in the event of an air raid.

It was decided to excavate a large air-raid shelter, designed to function as a fully equipped underground hospital, on the hospital reserve. The underground hospital was excavated by miners working in their spare time and at the weekends. It was equipped with male, female and maternity/children's wards, a surgical theatre and a delivery room.

Once a week there was an air-raid drill, when nurses and orderlies wheeled less-seriously-ill patients up the gravel path to the hospital. Fortunately no Japanese bombers ever came to Mount Isa. Eventually the air-raid drills stopped, but the hospital remained in use for less urgent purposes.

There is also a marvellous medical museum with some horrific looking items including the horrible ether masks that I remember as a child.

In the late afternoon some stocking up on supplies for our departure to more remote areas for a few days. On our way back to our Kimberley Karavan, we went to the town lookout to see the panorama of Mt. Isa. Then I went for a 33 km bike ride to Lake Moongarra and return. Then out for Dinner to the quite big Irish Club. Transport to and from was by the Irish Club Courtesy bus.

It may be a few days before I am to do a post as we are going a little more remote to Camooweal and Barkly Homestead over the next few days.