June 10, 2025 • 30 mins
It’s about Mount Isa and a missing... waterslide.
Out every Wednesday over four weeks.
This episode, an introduction to one of the most remote and fascinating Australian towns.
Is it a town built around a mine or a mine built near a town?
Don't worry the locals like Cogho, Shae, Rob Katter (son of Bob!) will let you know.
Hosted by comedians Dave O’Neil and Brad Oakes, who uncovered this story while touring in remote Queensland.
It’s a story that starts in remote Mount Isa and ends up in international waters, from Turkey to the Suez Canal to Townsville, with an incident involving - wait for it - a pirate attack!
Slippery Slope starts in one of the most unique places in Australia, Mount Isa.
A town built around a mine in the middle of Queensland, a land that has been sought after for its minerals from its original indigenous owners all the way to 2025 where a Swiss commodity trading company is in charge of the mine.
But the story is about people, the people of Mount Isa.
Learn more about Slippery Slope here.
Looking for a comedian for your next event?
Contact: hi@nearly.com.au
Slippery Slope is written and hosted by Dave O'Neil and Brad Oakes.
Original music by Itinerant Production
Editing by Courtney Carthy
Published by Nearly Media
Thank you to all the guests involved in the making of Slippery Slope.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, it's Dave O'Neil, the big guy, here to share
a new true crime well sort off podcast with you
that I made with a friendly comedian, Brad Oaks. He
also loves snack food. Slippery Slope is a story of jealousy, aspiration,
international relations sitting in Queensland's remote north central town of
Mount Isa, Grab some snacks and settle in. It's quite
a tale. Well, the junkie's taking a break. You will
get the four episodes of Slippery Slope here every Wednesday,
(00:22):
or search for in your podcast app Slippery Slope. Okay,
have you enjoyed? Here's episode one. Mount iSER, one of
the most remote places in Australia, nay the world, smack
bang in the middle of Queensland. They had it all pubs, cowboys, rodeo,
twenty four hour machas, a massive mind. But something was missing.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
She said, I got to say they don't have real problems.
You got problems.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
And he said, what the fuck is that?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Some of them screaming lizard crocodile, lizard crocodile.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
And a water slide just made sense.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
It was my in Turkey and we got a lot
of flak off that too.
Speaker 6 (01:02):
There was a bit of an issue in the sus Canal.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Like I thought everyone was having a crack.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
They're delaying and on purpose and they're just trying to
get it after the election.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Oh okay, of course this has happened to us in
Mount isa What else would happen?
Speaker 7 (01:18):
Slippery Slope a true crime podcast about Mount isa.
Speaker 8 (01:24):
And the Missing Water Slide with Dave O'Neill and Brad Oaks.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Well, Hello and welcome to a podcast. I'm Dave O'Neil.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
Hi, I'm Brad Oaks.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Now, Brad, tell everyone how we came across the story
of Mount isa and the Missing Water Slide.
Speaker 6 (01:46):
Well, last year we were touring in northern Queensland. We
were in cans and then we flew to Mount Isaac
and we were picked up by a channing person from
the Mount Isaac Council, Erica Erica. She drove us around,
she showed us some very interesting sites and then told
us this wonderful tale.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Now you'd been to man Isser before, No, I'd never
been there. Yeah, and what was your first impression?
Speaker 6 (02:19):
Is it in Australia? Yeah, it's it's a long while.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
It's very isolated for people that don't know, it's in
the middle of Queensland. It's a huge mining town.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
It's actually in Queensland, but it's closer to Darwin, yeah
than it is to Brisbane. Yeah, it's state capitol.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I've been there a few times. I hosted the one
hundred year celebration and I've been I've I've done again.
Julia Creek, I always really liked man Isser because very
much a working town as opposed to a five town.
Most people live there and most people work in the
mine or on the surrounding industries in the mines.
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Well, I know, I think when I look at you,
I think western Queensland. You're like a stockland.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So we heard of this story and we thought that
is a great story, and so return to Mount Eyes
that interviewed people. We're going to cover the whole story
over this podcast.
Speaker 6 (03:08):
I just point out to them. We didn't turn to
each other and go, this is a great story. It
was a couple of weeks later after we got back,
said you, I'm just fascinated by that story. You went
me too.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, And we both been into rooms in Mount Eyes
and individually googled and could find nothing about it. There
was nothing about this water slide, so we thought this
is a great story. Well, I mean it's interesting people
that live there have an opinion on Mount Eyser. Obviously.
Let's hear from Kim Coglan. She's the sister now, she's
been on council forever. Kim, what's your what's your description
(03:41):
of Mount iSER Hard?
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Rugged? Hot?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yep, that's a very quick summation, but that kind of
does sum it up.
Speaker 6 (03:49):
It is.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I think it is a hard place to live, Brad.
Speaker 6 (03:52):
In terms of hard, it was thirty one degrees when
we were in Can's the day before. Yeah, but that's
humid heat.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
And then when we landed at eight thirty in the
morning in Mount Isaac, it was already thirty one degrees. Yeah,
that's more like pizza oven heat.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, it was like a pizza oven, and it got
hotder and hotter. Daniel Slave's also she was on the council.
She was a mayor. I met her when I hosted
one hundred year celebration. She's not a counselor anymore. Growing up,
man isa.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
It was never my intention to stay here. It grows
on you without you realizing. When I was left school,
I was out of here. There's no doubt about it.
And I met people who not just become friends, but
have become lifelong friends, and people who would you know,
bury a body for you. Basically, you know these people
we've grown up together. And I can't explain that sort
(04:42):
of feeling of community that man Isa has. And maybe
it's because we're so isolated of course this area.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And I didn't know this until I went there. Rob
Catter is the local member for the State Parliament. Now
that's Bob Catter's son. Do you know we had a son.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
I knew we had a son. I loved the fact
it's the differential is just well, Bobcatter, who's a very
colorful Australian federal politicians.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Being there forever to in Parliament, he.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
Has been around and is a very strong advocate for
Northern Queensland. To differentiate between his colorful personality, his son
is Rob rather than Bob.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, it's so funny and it's just one letter, the
difference between Rob and Bob.
Speaker 6 (05:26):
Yeah, it just clears it up straight away.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
The people that don't know who Bob Catter is. This
is his famous quote on the news when they're I
think I talk about gay marriage.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
Weren't they It was it's about the referendum.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, and just hear how it takes a turn. It's
only twenty seconds. But this will this will sum up
Bob Catter.
Speaker 8 (05:44):
People are entitled to the sexual proclimities. Yeah, I mean,
let there be a thousand blossoms blooms.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
So but I ain't spending.
Speaker 9 (05:55):
Any time warrant because in the meantime, every three months.
Speaker 6 (06:00):
A person who's torn to pieces by a crocodile.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And North Queensland there we go torn to pieces by
a crocodile.
Speaker 6 (06:05):
Do yourself a favor too. If you want to google that,
just type in Bobcatter crocodiles and you will see it's
a twenty second clip. His face change halfway through that.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
It's unbelievable and that has become famous around the world.
But that's not Rob Catter.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
No, Rob's a lot more to date.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Rob Catter actually lives in maun Isa. He's got an officer,
he's got a house that he's got a family there.
Speaker 6 (06:29):
He's the member for that area, yes, and which must
be a very big state of electionship.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
He's got a plane that he flies around, yeah, which
he famlessly didn't put the landing thing down and skid
it on the tarmac.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
I do that all the time in your plane.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Let's hear from Rob catter Man. Eyser is a diamond
in the rough. It's very hard to see it's beauty
and it's value and character on the surface, but it
doesn't when you open it up and get it inside.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
It's just it's great and gets oldier.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
It's hard to leave. He sounds to be like a
little bit. There is a real phenomena where people come
brand and they just stay. Yeah, did you have any
desire to stay?
Speaker 6 (07:11):
No, it was it was a bit too hot for me,
given that we did a gig there that I pretty
much shot my bolt there. You know, a lot of
the people from the region were there. So after that
it's pretty much I'll just be picking up papers for
something to do.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, there's no gigs there, basically, is what you're saying.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
But I could see, like you remember how the sunsets
were absolutely beautiful, beautiful and striking. It had that kind
of thing too, which I think it might be proximate
to a desert, and so it has that nighttime that's stillness,
which is you know, really kind of commensate with the
Australian outback.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is a desert, isn't it desert?
Speaker 6 (07:55):
I think it is.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
I'm really sure it's the desert. Let's hear a bit
more from Rob cattach to me about how it's very
hard to leave the place.
Speaker 10 (08:02):
For me.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
I'm a good working example.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I came out with a two or three year plan
twenty one years ago, thinking yeah, just make some money.
And then you start to go, well, what am I
going to improve if I go back to the coast?
If I go back, what am I going to improve?
Because I've got a good friendship base here, We've got
a good house, I've got a job, we got enough
money to holiday at the end of the year. I
think a lot of people have that set in the head,
like I've got to get back to NUSA, I've got
(08:25):
to get back to Brisbane and Gold Coast. And then
you start to say, well, why, you know what was
better in your life there? And it's inch It's really
interesting the amount of people that move away. And I
don't want to say with their tail between their legs,
but it's usually sort of in a good way. They
come out and say, you know what, I just, I
just I couldn't replicate the same friendships and community that
(08:46):
I had here.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Think about man Eyes that no one's mentioned yet is
the mine. It is quite remarkable to go to a
mining town where the mine is right there in the
middle of the town, right there.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
Yeah. I've been a cup early and the mine's outside.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, that's a pit too.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
Yeah. And you know, of course, growing up in Victoria
there's the open cup mine in the Gippsland region around
more Lawn and that's out of town. But this is
really strike here. It's just in fact, the town I believe,
is divided into mind side and town side. Yes, yeah, and.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Mind side used to be a bit posh, I believe back.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
Because of course it would be posh because if you
on the mind side, do you go, I'll just grab
some rubies from my mind. Well.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
It's interesting because when I first went there, I could
not believe I could look at the motel. I heard
a horn blasting and it was the mine. I looked
at the motel window and there it was, right there.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
So first impressions are really interesting. With Mount Isa. Let's
see from Corgo again, the counselor talking about someone's first impression.
Speaker 9 (09:50):
Tell this story a fuller. I'm into Mount Isa. Never
been to Mound iSER in his life. He went to town.
He's rugby league club. He was drinking there all afternoon
and I had to take him. He was staying at
the Berkeley Hotel, so I was taking him to the
Berkeley Hotel and I was going across the Big Bridge
and at night, when the mines is lit up, it
looks like a shipliner. And I remember we were going
(10:12):
across the Big Bridge and he was talking and next
minute he looked and he said, what the.
Speaker 6 (10:17):
Fuck is that?
Speaker 9 (10:18):
And I said, what are you talking about? Because I
didn't know what he was going on about. And he
was in the car horrified, and I.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Said, what are you He said, what's that?
Speaker 9 (10:29):
And I said it's the mine and he was absolutely astounded.
He said, but it's right there, and I said, yeah,
so we we don't know anything different. But for people
coming into Mount Isa, I mean, you drive down the
Berkeley Highway and you know, you go up Railway Avenue
(10:49):
and there's this mine, like the whole mine is there,
like it's just it's unheard of because all other places
in Australia the mine's there, but the town's away.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
But go back to when it was discovered.
Speaker 9 (11:02):
I mean you had to be right near the mine,
so you used to have mine side and town side.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
The mine was first, and then maunt iSER. Do you
know how they how was discovered? How man Isa came
to be.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
I'm strongly paraphrasing here, so you know, feel free to
create me. But my understanding was that there was some
prospectors just moving through the area. One of them horses
that's something in its foot, yeah, hoof, and they turned
it over and it was a big lump of insert
precious metal here, which begs the question because we talk
(11:37):
about how the town to be called Mount Eliza, but
I think I should have been named after that horse. Yeah,
you know, like Malli, Mount Trigger, Mount Nolley.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Because of course the indigenous people were there first, of course,
and they're part of Mount Eyes, of course. And it
used to be it was known for what sort of things.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
I believe it was known as a training area. It
was well known for the quality of the stone own
axes that were made in the region, right, which again
would point towards them using really good minerals the materials. Yeah, yeah,
that they're now mine minerals.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Congo seems to know what she's talking about when it
comes with the history of Mount iSER.
Speaker 9 (12:14):
So the story goes, the horse got a rock thing
in his hoof and he saw it. A lot of
them are prospectors at the time, and from there like
all the prospectors come out, but John Campbell Miles laid
claim to it first. And there's a long, long history
of miners coming here. So I just know that my
(12:37):
great grandfather was the pioneer that discovered, like was with
John Miles. Then my father was a shift boss in
the mines, and then like I worked in the mines.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
The mine has had several owners over the years. Well,
the vibe I get the current owners is not a
good relationship, I believe.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
No, I believe it started out as Mount Eyes are mining, Yes,
and years you would see that in the stocks pages. Yes,
you know m I am was synonymous. You know it
was up there with b HP. It's one of the
most productive mining areas in the world in terms of
its size, and it's now fallen into the hands of
(13:19):
what did they say, bean counters encounters economers. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
I actually put the question to Rob Catter Let's have
a listen.
Speaker 6 (13:27):
I'd say really bad.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
It was off the charts good when I sort of
first moved here and it was man eys and mines.
They used to have a Christmas party. I'm told before
my time they had a Christmas party. Every kid in town,
every kid in town, regardless where their parents worked at
the mine, has not got a Christmas present. And the
friends of mine, like who my age, were parted that.
They said, mate, they weren't little presents, like they went
(13:51):
like a decent bloody toy.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
And you know, they did up sports.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Fields and you know, helped people into housing and helped
develop housing somers and really invested in creating a good
livable city and keeping fire far out and making a
permanent workforce. And you know Extrata came in, which was
the precursor to Glencore, and it's just completely different. There's
a lot of animosity towards the mine now, I'd say
(14:18):
because they do it. They're just commercially focused and have
that same community focus.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
They're not mining them the money people, aren't.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
They from the global commodity traders, where one of one
hundred and fifty or more minds there are in the
world where respecting the it'speca dust to them, and they
work off commodity prices and high out they'd require higher
returns and a lot of other mining companies do around
the place, so they'll shut something down before someone else would.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
And they're not miners, they're economists.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Oh, they're bankers.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Yeah, and like it's yeah, So I think that's where
that's where the trouble is.
Speaker 9 (14:53):
We need a mining company to buy out mountains mines.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yep, Hello, so I'm bringing you early.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
I've realized we've got Troy rolling from the Northwest Weekly.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
How are you, Troy? I'm not too bad. Tell us
what's your relationship with Mount Isaac? You there when you
were a younger man?
Speaker 10 (15:14):
Is that right?
Speaker 8 (15:15):
Ah?
Speaker 10 (15:15):
Yeah, that's right. I started my journalism cadet ship in
Mount ISAA maybe ten to fifteen years ago, and then
I went off and did other things in media, and
then a friend of mine started the newspaper up here
again last year, and so yeah, here I am.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Troy showed me around Mount Isaac When he said he
went off and did other things, brav, he worked for
a very famous politician. But we're not going to interview
him about that, right, right.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Did you ever think you'd go back there. I don't know.
Speaker 10 (15:40):
It's one of those places where people always say they
come back. It's like a boomerang sort of town. People
keep coming back, so when you actually walk down the
street and people remember you, they're not always surprised to
see that you've come back.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
To be honest, it's not like a jail town where
people go, oh, you've been away? Did five to seven?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
When I was talking to you. Between Mount i and
the mine is really interesting because they're kind of proud
of the mine, aren't they.
Speaker 10 (16:04):
Oh yeah, this place is very very pro mining, so
because it's basically a gigantic mine with a town wrapped
around it in the middle of nowhere. So I mean
the mine was here before the town as well. So
if you're to be anti mining in Mount Isy would
be very lonely.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
And now tell us about is part of the mind
shutting down?
Speaker 6 (16:25):
Soon? It is?
Speaker 10 (16:26):
Yeah, So later this year they'll have the underground section,
which is actually there's like hundreds of kilometers of underground
mine there that they extract copper from, and well, that
whole section is closing down. So it's somewhere between six
hundred and twelve hundred jobs, which is about ten percent
of the entire workforce in Mount iSER.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, and what's the vibe about that. That's obviously a
bad thing.
Speaker 10 (16:47):
Oh yeah, yeah, I mean it's obviously people don't like
seeing the mines closed. There's obviously people that think that
it should stay open. There's other people that say that's
what a mine does, it runs out of stuff. There's
other things on the horizon though. There's always minds being
proposed out here as well, so it's not just the
one man niners of mine. There's quite a lot of
(17:08):
mining production all around the area.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
To be honest, has it run out of stuff or
is it an economic decision?
Speaker 10 (17:14):
Depends what you ask. If you ask the company Glencore,
they'll tell you that they've basically just depleted the resource.
So they just it's just not economical for them to
get it out anymore. They're just closing it. Well, they're
going to restart and open Cup mine over the top
of it in the next few years.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Well, that'll create more jobs, won't it.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
It will.
Speaker 10 (17:33):
Yeah, they're not as many jobs as what is currently
in the underground section, but it will create new jobs.
The thing is that mine hasn't been fully sort of
signed off on yet they haven't made a final investment decision,
so just have to wait and see.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
And there's a resistance to five to zo there as well.
Wo isn't there that? Is there a concern that these
jobs will be allocated at locals or yeah?
Speaker 10 (17:57):
Well that's always the big battle out here in any
mine town, is that. Yeah, you get the guys that
fly in and fly out, and they live in camps
or they live on accommodation, and you know, they don't
spend outside from sort of buying beer and playing the pokey's,
they don't really commit to the town very much.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
I think it was you telling me, was it Glenko
who changed the shift time so it went from eight
hours to a different twelve hour shift?
Speaker 6 (18:23):
Was that right?
Speaker 10 (18:23):
It was the previous company that owned the mine before Glencore,
so extrata they extended from eight to twelve hour shifts,
And if you listen to longtime locals, they'll two. It
really did take a lot of the heart out of
a lot of the community organizations, particularly because you know,
I don't know if you guys have ever worked a
twelve hour shift, but you're pretty buggered by the end
(18:46):
of it.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, Troy, you're
asking two comedians if they've ever worked a twelve hour shift.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
Answers No, we did drive them Durham back we went.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
You're right, once you finish a twelve hour shift in
the musical job, you can't go to tennis or soccer
practice your knack.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
It is that three ships down the two or is
that two shifts and closing down? It's two ships now.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
But of course, with the history of the mind. When
we were up there, Erika showed us the underground hospital,
which was a feature in World War Two. The miners
built that, didn't they.
Speaker 10 (19:19):
My understanding is that northern Australia was pretty undeveloped back then.
The war was used to try and build highways and
they built airstrips and in case the Japanese invaded, So
I think out here was obviously going to be a
place that soldiers were going to fall back to if
the Japanese ever did come down, and so they needed
a hospital to be able to put injured soldiers in
(19:40):
and all the rest of us. There's like a bunch
of tunnels built into the side of a mountain out
here that that was a hospital.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
We visited that amazing looking at their history too, it
would have been a nice, big, fat, juicy target for
the Japanese Imperial Army because there was in fact, after
the bombing of Darwin. I think that was an where
they said, well, we have to have a hospital, it's safe.
And on top of that there was the Risbon line,
(20:07):
which was basically, we will defend everything from Brisbane back,
so that, you know, the people might have actually felt
like they were being isolated there.
Speaker 10 (20:16):
There were a lot of American soldiers in man Isa
during the war too, and they used to get into
fights with the miners and go down to the riverbank
and sort it all out.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
You live in Mount Isaa, you work there. Talking about
the lack of things for young people to do, is
that an issue you wreck.
Speaker 10 (20:32):
Well, we're in the middle of nowhere. So if you
don't like what Manasa has to offer, you don't have
much else to choose from. I guess it just depends
what you like to do. Because we've got Lake Mundara,
which is, without sounding like a tourist pamphlet, there's you know,
Lake Mundaru is a pretty big it's the water source,
but they've turned into a big nice lake where people
go fishing and boating and stuff. And then it's a
(20:54):
pretty multicultural place as well, as much as people probably
don't realize. So there's a lot of good restaurants and
stuff as well. So I don't mind it, but I
guess it just depends, you know, if you're wanting to
go and see Metallica on the weekend or something, you're
not going to be doing that from Mount Isa.
Speaker 6 (21:10):
What an appropriate thing in mining town.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Paunt Isa, he Troy, thanks for talking.
Speaker 10 (21:16):
To us, No problem.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Well, apart from all the issues with the mind, so
that part of the mind's closing down. There is this
whole problem with the young people and a lack of
things for the kids to do, Brad, there.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Is, but the relationships are strong. I think Danielle was
talking before. I think she said something like people have
got your back. People would bury a body for you basically. Okay,
so not a good idea in a mining town. Yeah,
probably a better way to get rid of it. It
kind of speaks to firm friends. And Rob Catter said
(21:50):
the same, how close these people are and so even
if you don't have kids, you're concerned about the issues
for their children.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, but there is. I mean there's lots of sporting clubs,
lack of the things for the kids through. Let's hear
from Rob Carder.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Oh, well, you know it was really nice.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Once a politician in Brisbane, a lady had come up
to me and said, Robert, we just want to say
to you. I spent a few days out in the
committee here and Mount Eya getting across some of the
issues here. And she said, you know, I get a
lot of people from my office in Brisbane. She said,
I got to say they don't have real problems. You
got problems. If you wanted to take education, health, population decline,
(22:30):
industry risk and industry growth and just about every metric
we could say, we've got the alcoholism, social disruption, crime,
you could put in a real negative slant on it.
But kriky, we still love being here.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Oh look, this is look. And I'll speak very bluntly
with you.
Speaker 9 (22:54):
You know, people say, oh, there's nothing to do, rah rah,
Well hang on a minute.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
We shouldn't have to put on something for you to do.
Speaker 9 (23:03):
You can still like, we've got a skate park here,
we've got a pump track, We've got like thirteen parks
or something, and nearly all of them have got play
equipment in it. Or how about you just go get
your mate and get on a bike and ride around
for a little bit, you know, not break into houses
or anything, but you know, just ride around on your bikes.
And my son especially was never without a ball in
(23:24):
his hand. He'd kick a ball around or him and
his mates would go, you know and do their stuff.
So I still think there's a lot to do in
Mount isab Igo.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Yeah, well, it mean she makes a good point. I
mean we didn't have much. I mean we were in Melbourne,
but we didn't have that much growing up as kids
to entertain ourselves, did we know?
Speaker 6 (23:39):
And in fact you talk about just a digress, you're
talk about it having a ball in your hand. Now,
I believe in your street there was somebody who moved out.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Oh sure, we're talking about Johnny Firthy who plays for
the NBA. Now, the kid that I practically raised. He
lives across the road and he used to play basketball
the time with the school at the local clubs and
and he got signed up for the NBA.
Speaker 6 (24:02):
It's the same in Central Australia. And I was talking
to a football or Rubert patheris ex Collingwood player who
went up and did some developmental work in the central
part of the Northern Teritory. And I said to him,
do you think that Indigenous people are better at football?
And he said he felt that this is his opinion.
He felt that it was because they have a ball
(24:24):
in their hand from the moment they can walk, really
they have a footy or they're having a game of footy,
and so.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
That because it's cheap entertainment, it is.
Speaker 6 (24:32):
And he said, there'll be eighty kids playing, forty on
each side playing footy. I'm just really intrigued by how
important a ball is. He said that by the time
you get to teenage years, you've seen every bounce to
that ball, and that's what makes you ten thousand hour experts.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's why the theory that you need
ten thousand hours of practicing your chosen field like us
in sotanwnup comedy, exactly ten thousand hours.
Speaker 6 (24:57):
And I bounced a lot of balls done.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
So you've got all the sporting clubs up there. You've
got the forty, the cricket, they've got tennis in Mount Eyeser,
all sorts of sports.
Speaker 6 (25:07):
Body bearing.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, the body bearing, the soccer cots.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
The body finding club.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
They've got a great pool up there, but this you
would hope, Okay, a big swim center outdoors, and the
outdoor swim center there right near the mine. Actually it's
right next to the mine. But the thing is the
example we're about to play illustrates how bored the kids
are a mount eyes are Oh, let's Shay. She runs
(25:33):
the pool there, she runs the swim center. Let her
tell the story.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
A couple of years ago we had some crocodiles in
the pool as well. Her little turtle last year also,
not that the turtle was too bad, but the crocodiles
were a bit more of a feat to get out.
Someone had been trapping them out at the lake and
brought them in overnight and threw them over the fence,
and they've gone into the water. I opened the pool
as normal. It was pitch black, spotlights on. I did
(25:59):
my walk around, and but the crocodiles were obviously in
the corners in the shadow. Early in the morning, just dormant.
And then as the water started churning up. We had
an aquaerobics class on. There was music pumping and everything
was going. They started to move around, and we don't
know whether they wanted to join in or just escape
the place fast. They looked pretty nervous and pretty scared
(26:22):
at first. To be honest, I don't know who was
more scared. A couple of people in the class started
screaming and running and didn't really know what was going
on at first until some of them were screaming lizard, crocodile, lizard, crocodile,
and yeah, went from there. So we could scoop some
out with the buckets. They were only little babies. Some
of them were a little bit faster, and we had
(26:43):
to get one of the ladies we know quite well
from the class. Actually, her husband came down. He's a
big fishing fella, and he brought cast nets and that's
how we got them.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Okay, So I just want to point out on you, Shay,
and I can imagine that's a problem. But I've seen
a lizard and I've seen a crocodile, and we're talking
a difference in meters.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah, you know, I think there were baby crocodiles, but
they were still scary.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
I know they they were very different. I believe that
they probably were similar. About twenty million billion years ago. Yes,
but they branched out.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Well, it's kind of like saying Wallaby kangaroo. Wellby kangaroo,
isn't it?
Speaker 6 (27:26):
Is it now? I felt like it's Molly saying Wallaby
horse wall Okay, that's probably what Bob Catta was talking about. Yes,
I mean being ripped apart over a series of days.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
In the swimming pool in Mount Isa. Well, anyway, that's
the thing about Man Isa. We're getting to the water
slide now because the kids are say bored, they're putting
crocodiles in the pool. Even though she didn't say they
were kids in that quote, but she told me later
they were kids that did it. Let's cross the Danny
Old slide, the former mayor and because they used to
be a brad. I don't know if you know that
(27:59):
they used to your water slide in Mount iSER.
Speaker 6 (28:02):
No, I did not know that.
Speaker 5 (28:05):
For a while. When I was a kid here we
had a water slide. Is that quite a ride on
my bike to be honest. But I would ride out
there do the water slide and have the time of
my life. And of course it was a private entity
and it went broke, all closed down. And the one
thing that I realized as a resident let alone. The
mayor is, we need more fun things for kids to do,
(28:26):
especially the older kids. You know, we're talking you for
crime and lots of things happening. You need to keep
these kids engaged, lots of fun things to do. A
water slide just made sense.
Speaker 6 (28:35):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
There we have it. Someone has suggested a water slide
for Mount iSER. So we get to the start of
the story.
Speaker 6 (28:43):
Bra all right, and so they didn't have that water slide.
The another ones we had with kids, we just had
slipping side. They had a big bit of plastic.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
A dad would put ten pegs in the plastic and
also be near the road. We used to do one
on the nature Strip when you could often go into
the driveway or the road.
Speaker 6 (28:56):
And you can put a little bit of on it
and if you slid onto that cooch grass there was
next to yours skim for this.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
So we've come to the end of the first episode.
So Mount Isa they're gonna get a water slide. Well,
it's been proposed, but there's quite a few hurdles to
cover and the incident occurs.
Speaker 6 (29:17):
Yeah, you don't just go and buy one at Clark Rubber.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
No, you don't it's a whole thing good intentions. Look
listen to next week because something goes wrong.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Queensland Government had gone to all the mines in Queensland
and said we want some money from you. Special meeting
of man Isser City Council. It was my idea for
the water slide, but it's not big enough.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
Slippery Slope a true crime podcast about Mount iSER and
the missing water slide.
Speaker 8 (29:50):
With Dave O'Neill and Brados.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Slippery Slope is written and hosted by Dave O'Neill and Brade.
Original music created by Itinerant Productions. Check out their website.
There's some great stuff there. Ww dot Itinerantproduction dot com.
Editing by Courtney Carthy, published by Neely Media. Thank you
to all the guests involved in the making of Slippery
Slope in this episode, Kim Coglan, Daniel Say, Troy Railing,
(30:17):
Robcatter and Shae Donovan at the pool. Find more information
in the episode notes or at nearly dot com dot au.
And thanks to the people of moun iSER
Hello, it's Dave O'Neil, the big guy, here to share
a new true crime well sort off podcast with you
that I made with a friendly comedian, Brad Oaks. He
also loves snack food. Slippery Slope is a story of jealousy, aspiration,
international relations sitting in Queensland's remote north central town of
Mount Isa, Grab some snacks and settle in. It's quite
a tale. Well, the junkie's taking a break. You will
get the four episodes of Slippery Slope here every Wednesday,
(00:22):
or search for in your podcast app Slippery Slope. Okay,
have you enjoyed? Here's episode one. Mount iSER, one of
the most remote places in Australia, nay the world, smack
bang in the middle of Queensland. They had it all pubs, cowboys, rodeo,
twenty four hour machas, a massive mind. But something was missing.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
She said, I got to say they don't have real problems.
You got problems.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
And he said, what the fuck is that?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Some of them screaming lizard crocodile, lizard crocodile.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
And a water slide just made sense.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
It was my in Turkey and we got a lot
of flak off that too.
Speaker 6 (01:02):
There was a bit of an issue in the sus Canal.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Like I thought everyone was having a crack.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
They're delaying and on purpose and they're just trying to
get it after the election.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Oh okay, of course this has happened to us in
Mount isa What else would happen?
Speaker 7 (01:18):
Slippery Slope a true crime podcast about Mount isa.
Speaker 8 (01:24):
And the Missing Water Slide with Dave O'Neill and Brad Oaks.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Well, Hello and welcome to a podcast. I'm Dave O'Neil.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
Hi, I'm Brad Oaks.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Now, Brad, tell everyone how we came across the story
of Mount isa and the Missing Water Slide.
Speaker 6 (01:46):
Well, last year we were touring in northern Queensland. We
were in cans and then we flew to Mount Isaac
and we were picked up by a channing person from
the Mount Isaac Council, Erica Erica. She drove us around,
she showed us some very interesting sites and then told
us this wonderful tale.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Now you'd been to man Isser before, No, I'd never
been there. Yeah, and what was your first impression?
Speaker 6 (02:19):
Is it in Australia? Yeah, it's it's a long while.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
It's very isolated for people that don't know, it's in
the middle of Queensland. It's a huge mining town.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
It's actually in Queensland, but it's closer to Darwin, yeah
than it is to Brisbane. Yeah, it's state capitol.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I've been there a few times. I hosted the one
hundred year celebration and I've been I've I've done again.
Julia Creek, I always really liked man Isser because very
much a working town as opposed to a five town.
Most people live there and most people work in the
mine or on the surrounding industries in the mines.
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Well, I know, I think when I look at you,
I think western Queensland. You're like a stockland.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So we heard of this story and we thought that
is a great story, and so return to Mount Eyes
that interviewed people. We're going to cover the whole story
over this podcast.
Speaker 6 (03:08):
I just point out to them. We didn't turn to
each other and go, this is a great story. It
was a couple of weeks later after we got back,
said you, I'm just fascinated by that story. You went
me too.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, And we both been into rooms in Mount Eyes
and individually googled and could find nothing about it. There
was nothing about this water slide, so we thought this
is a great story. Well, I mean it's interesting people
that live there have an opinion on Mount Eyser. Obviously.
Let's hear from Kim Coglan. She's the sister now, she's
been on council forever. Kim, what's your what's your description
(03:41):
of Mount iSER Hard?
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Rugged? Hot?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yep, that's a very quick summation, but that kind of
does sum it up.
Speaker 6 (03:49):
It is.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I think it is a hard place to live, Brad.
Speaker 6 (03:52):
In terms of hard, it was thirty one degrees when
we were in Can's the day before. Yeah, but that's
humid heat.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
And then when we landed at eight thirty in the
morning in Mount Isaac, it was already thirty one degrees. Yeah,
that's more like pizza oven heat.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, it was like a pizza oven, and it got
hotder and hotter. Daniel Slave's also she was on the council.
She was a mayor. I met her when I hosted
one hundred year celebration. She's not a counselor anymore. Growing up,
man isa.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
It was never my intention to stay here. It grows
on you without you realizing. When I was left school,
I was out of here. There's no doubt about it.
And I met people who not just become friends, but
have become lifelong friends, and people who would you know,
bury a body for you. Basically, you know these people
we've grown up together. And I can't explain that sort
(04:42):
of feeling of community that man Isa has. And maybe
it's because we're so isolated of course this area.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And I didn't know this until I went there. Rob
Catter is the local member for the State Parliament. Now
that's Bob Catter's son. Do you know we had a son.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
I knew we had a son. I loved the fact
it's the differential is just well, Bobcatter, who's a very
colorful Australian federal politicians.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Being there forever to in Parliament, he.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
Has been around and is a very strong advocate for
Northern Queensland. To differentiate between his colorful personality, his son
is Rob rather than Bob.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, it's so funny and it's just one letter, the
difference between Rob and Bob.
Speaker 6 (05:26):
Yeah, it just clears it up straight away.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
The people that don't know who Bob Catter is. This
is his famous quote on the news when they're I
think I talk about gay marriage.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
Weren't they It was it's about the referendum.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, and just hear how it takes a turn. It's
only twenty seconds. But this will this will sum up
Bob Catter.
Speaker 8 (05:44):
People are entitled to the sexual proclimities. Yeah, I mean,
let there be a thousand blossoms blooms.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
So but I ain't spending.
Speaker 9 (05:55):
Any time warrant because in the meantime, every three months.
Speaker 6 (06:00):
A person who's torn to pieces by a crocodile.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And North Queensland there we go torn to pieces by
a crocodile.
Speaker 6 (06:05):
Do yourself a favor too. If you want to google that,
just type in Bobcatter crocodiles and you will see it's
a twenty second clip. His face change halfway through that.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
It's unbelievable and that has become famous around the world.
But that's not Rob Catter.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
No, Rob's a lot more to date.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Rob Catter actually lives in maun Isa. He's got an officer,
he's got a house that he's got a family there.
Speaker 6 (06:29):
He's the member for that area, yes, and which must
be a very big state of electionship.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
He's got a plane that he flies around, yeah, which
he famlessly didn't put the landing thing down and skid
it on the tarmac.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
I do that all the time in your plane.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Let's hear from Rob catter Man. Eyser is a diamond
in the rough. It's very hard to see it's beauty
and it's value and character on the surface, but it
doesn't when you open it up and get it inside.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
It's just it's great and gets oldier.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
It's hard to leave. He sounds to be like a
little bit. There is a real phenomena where people come
brand and they just stay. Yeah, did you have any
desire to stay?
Speaker 6 (07:11):
No, it was it was a bit too hot for me,
given that we did a gig there that I pretty
much shot my bolt there. You know, a lot of
the people from the region were there. So after that
it's pretty much I'll just be picking up papers for
something to do.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, there's no gigs there, basically, is what you're saying.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
But I could see, like you remember how the sunsets
were absolutely beautiful, beautiful and striking. It had that kind
of thing too, which I think it might be proximate
to a desert, and so it has that nighttime that's stillness,
which is you know, really kind of commensate with the
Australian outback.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is a desert, isn't it desert?
Speaker 6 (07:55):
I think it is.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
I'm really sure it's the desert. Let's hear a bit
more from Rob cattach to me about how it's very
hard to leave the place.
Speaker 10 (08:02):
For me.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
I'm a good working example.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I came out with a two or three year plan
twenty one years ago, thinking yeah, just make some money.
And then you start to go, well, what am I
going to improve if I go back to the coast?
If I go back, what am I going to improve?
Because I've got a good friendship base here, We've got
a good house, I've got a job, we got enough
money to holiday at the end of the year. I
think a lot of people have that set in the head,
like I've got to get back to NUSA, I've got
(08:25):
to get back to Brisbane and Gold Coast. And then
you start to say, well, why, you know what was
better in your life there? And it's inch It's really
interesting the amount of people that move away. And I
don't want to say with their tail between their legs,
but it's usually sort of in a good way. They
come out and say, you know what, I just, I
just I couldn't replicate the same friendships and community that
(08:46):
I had here.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Think about man Eyes that no one's mentioned yet is
the mine. It is quite remarkable to go to a
mining town where the mine is right there in the
middle of the town, right there.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
Yeah. I've been a cup early and the mine's outside.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, that's a pit too.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
Yeah. And you know, of course, growing up in Victoria
there's the open cup mine in the Gippsland region around
more Lawn and that's out of town. But this is
really strike here. It's just in fact, the town I believe,
is divided into mind side and town side. Yes, yeah, and.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Mind side used to be a bit posh, I believe back.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
Because of course it would be posh because if you
on the mind side, do you go, I'll just grab
some rubies from my mind. Well.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
It's interesting because when I first went there, I could
not believe I could look at the motel. I heard
a horn blasting and it was the mine. I looked
at the motel window and there it was, right there.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
So first impressions are really interesting. With Mount Isa. Let's
see from Corgo again, the counselor talking about someone's first impression.
Speaker 9 (09:50):
Tell this story a fuller. I'm into Mount Isa. Never
been to Mound iSER in his life. He went to town.
He's rugby league club. He was drinking there all afternoon
and I had to take him. He was staying at
the Berkeley Hotel, so I was taking him to the
Berkeley Hotel and I was going across the Big Bridge
and at night, when the mines is lit up, it
looks like a shipliner. And I remember we were going
(10:12):
across the Big Bridge and he was talking and next
minute he looked and he said, what the.
Speaker 6 (10:17):
Fuck is that?
Speaker 9 (10:18):
And I said, what are you talking about? Because I
didn't know what he was going on about. And he
was in the car horrified, and I.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Said, what are you He said, what's that?
Speaker 9 (10:29):
And I said it's the mine and he was absolutely astounded.
He said, but it's right there, and I said, yeah,
so we we don't know anything different. But for people
coming into Mount Isa, I mean, you drive down the
Berkeley Highway and you know, you go up Railway Avenue
(10:49):
and there's this mine, like the whole mine is there,
like it's just it's unheard of because all other places
in Australia the mine's there, but the town's away.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
But go back to when it was discovered.
Speaker 9 (11:02):
I mean you had to be right near the mine,
so you used to have mine side and town side.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
The mine was first, and then maunt iSER. Do you
know how they how was discovered? How man Isa came
to be.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
I'm strongly paraphrasing here, so you know, feel free to
create me. But my understanding was that there was some
prospectors just moving through the area. One of them horses
that's something in its foot, yeah, hoof, and they turned
it over and it was a big lump of insert
precious metal here, which begs the question because we talk
(11:37):
about how the town to be called Mount Eliza, but
I think I should have been named after that horse. Yeah,
you know, like Malli, Mount Trigger, Mount Nolley.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Because of course the indigenous people were there first, of course,
and they're part of Mount Eyes, of course. And it
used to be it was known for what sort of things.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
I believe it was known as a training area. It
was well known for the quality of the stone own
axes that were made in the region, right, which again
would point towards them using really good minerals the materials. Yeah, yeah,
that they're now mine minerals.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Congo seems to know what she's talking about when it
comes with the history of Mount iSER.
Speaker 9 (12:14):
So the story goes, the horse got a rock thing
in his hoof and he saw it. A lot of
them are prospectors at the time, and from there like
all the prospectors come out, but John Campbell Miles laid
claim to it first. And there's a long, long history
of miners coming here. So I just know that my
(12:37):
great grandfather was the pioneer that discovered, like was with
John Miles. Then my father was a shift boss in
the mines, and then like I worked in the mines.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
The mine has had several owners over the years. Well,
the vibe I get the current owners is not a
good relationship, I believe.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
No, I believe it started out as Mount Eyes are mining, Yes,
and years you would see that in the stocks pages. Yes,
you know m I am was synonymous. You know it
was up there with b HP. It's one of the
most productive mining areas in the world in terms of
its size, and it's now fallen into the hands of
(13:19):
what did they say, bean counters encounters economers. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
I actually put the question to Rob Catter Let's have
a listen.
Speaker 6 (13:27):
I'd say really bad.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
It was off the charts good when I sort of
first moved here and it was man eys and mines.
They used to have a Christmas party. I'm told before
my time they had a Christmas party. Every kid in town,
every kid in town, regardless where their parents worked at
the mine, has not got a Christmas present. And the
friends of mine, like who my age, were parted that.
They said, mate, they weren't little presents, like they went
(13:51):
like a decent bloody toy.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
And you know, they did up sports.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Fields and you know, helped people into housing and helped
develop housing somers and really invested in creating a good
livable city and keeping fire far out and making a
permanent workforce. And you know Extrata came in, which was
the precursor to Glencore, and it's just completely different. There's
a lot of animosity towards the mine now, I'd say
(14:18):
because they do it. They're just commercially focused and have
that same community focus.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
They're not mining them the money people, aren't.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
They from the global commodity traders, where one of one
hundred and fifty or more minds there are in the
world where respecting the it'speca dust to them, and they
work off commodity prices and high out they'd require higher
returns and a lot of other mining companies do around
the place, so they'll shut something down before someone else would.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
And they're not miners, they're economists.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Oh, they're bankers.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Yeah, and like it's yeah, So I think that's where
that's where the trouble is.
Speaker 9 (14:53):
We need a mining company to buy out mountains mines.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yep, Hello, so I'm bringing you early.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
I've realized we've got Troy rolling from the Northwest Weekly.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
How are you, Troy? I'm not too bad. Tell us
what's your relationship with Mount Isaac? You there when you
were a younger man?
Speaker 10 (15:14):
Is that right?
Speaker 8 (15:15):
Ah?
Speaker 10 (15:15):
Yeah, that's right. I started my journalism cadet ship in
Mount ISAA maybe ten to fifteen years ago, and then
I went off and did other things in media, and
then a friend of mine started the newspaper up here
again last year, and so yeah, here I am.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Troy showed me around Mount Isaac When he said he
went off and did other things, brav, he worked for
a very famous politician. But we're not going to interview
him about that, right, right.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Did you ever think you'd go back there. I don't know.
Speaker 10 (15:40):
It's one of those places where people always say they
come back. It's like a boomerang sort of town. People
keep coming back, so when you actually walk down the
street and people remember you, they're not always surprised to
see that you've come back.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
To be honest, it's not like a jail town where
people go, oh, you've been away? Did five to seven?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
When I was talking to you. Between Mount i and
the mine is really interesting because they're kind of proud
of the mine, aren't they.
Speaker 10 (16:04):
Oh yeah, this place is very very pro mining, so
because it's basically a gigantic mine with a town wrapped
around it in the middle of nowhere. So I mean
the mine was here before the town as well. So
if you're to be anti mining in Mount Isy would
be very lonely.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
And now tell us about is part of the mind
shutting down?
Speaker 6 (16:25):
Soon? It is?
Speaker 10 (16:26):
Yeah, So later this year they'll have the underground section,
which is actually there's like hundreds of kilometers of underground
mine there that they extract copper from, and well, that
whole section is closing down. So it's somewhere between six
hundred and twelve hundred jobs, which is about ten percent
of the entire workforce in Mount iSER.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, and what's the vibe about that. That's obviously a
bad thing.
Speaker 10 (16:47):
Oh yeah, yeah, I mean it's obviously people don't like
seeing the mines closed. There's obviously people that think that
it should stay open. There's other people that say that's
what a mine does, it runs out of stuff. There's
other things on the horizon though. There's always minds being
proposed out here as well, so it's not just the
one man niners of mine. There's quite a lot of
(17:08):
mining production all around the area.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
To be honest, has it run out of stuff or
is it an economic decision?
Speaker 10 (17:14):
Depends what you ask. If you ask the company Glencore,
they'll tell you that they've basically just depleted the resource.
So they just it's just not economical for them to
get it out anymore. They're just closing it. Well, they're
going to restart and open Cup mine over the top
of it in the next few years.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Well, that'll create more jobs, won't it.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
It will.
Speaker 10 (17:33):
Yeah, they're not as many jobs as what is currently
in the underground section, but it will create new jobs.
The thing is that mine hasn't been fully sort of
signed off on yet they haven't made a final investment decision,
so just have to wait and see.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
And there's a resistance to five to zo there as well.
Wo isn't there that? Is there a concern that these
jobs will be allocated at locals or yeah?
Speaker 10 (17:57):
Well that's always the big battle out here in any
mine town, is that. Yeah, you get the guys that
fly in and fly out, and they live in camps
or they live on accommodation, and you know, they don't
spend outside from sort of buying beer and playing the pokey's,
they don't really commit to the town very much.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
I think it was you telling me, was it Glenko
who changed the shift time so it went from eight
hours to a different twelve hour shift?
Speaker 6 (18:23):
Was that right?
Speaker 10 (18:23):
It was the previous company that owned the mine before Glencore,
so extrata they extended from eight to twelve hour shifts,
And if you listen to longtime locals, they'll two. It
really did take a lot of the heart out of
a lot of the community organizations, particularly because you know,
I don't know if you guys have ever worked a
twelve hour shift, but you're pretty buggered by the end
(18:46):
of it.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, Troy, you're
asking two comedians if they've ever worked a twelve hour shift.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
Answers No, we did drive them Durham back we went.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
You're right, once you finish a twelve hour shift in
the musical job, you can't go to tennis or soccer
practice your knack.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
It is that three ships down the two or is
that two shifts and closing down? It's two ships now.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
But of course, with the history of the mind. When
we were up there, Erika showed us the underground hospital,
which was a feature in World War Two. The miners
built that, didn't they.
Speaker 10 (19:19):
My understanding is that northern Australia was pretty undeveloped back then.
The war was used to try and build highways and
they built airstrips and in case the Japanese invaded, So
I think out here was obviously going to be a
place that soldiers were going to fall back to if
the Japanese ever did come down, and so they needed
a hospital to be able to put injured soldiers in
(19:40):
and all the rest of us. There's like a bunch
of tunnels built into the side of a mountain out
here that that was a hospital.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
We visited that amazing looking at their history too, it
would have been a nice, big, fat, juicy target for
the Japanese Imperial Army because there was in fact, after
the bombing of Darwin. I think that was an where
they said, well, we have to have a hospital, it's safe.
And on top of that there was the Risbon line,
(20:07):
which was basically, we will defend everything from Brisbane back,
so that, you know, the people might have actually felt
like they were being isolated there.
Speaker 10 (20:16):
There were a lot of American soldiers in man Isa
during the war too, and they used to get into
fights with the miners and go down to the riverbank
and sort it all out.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
You live in Mount Isaa, you work there. Talking about
the lack of things for young people to do, is
that an issue you wreck.
Speaker 10 (20:32):
Well, we're in the middle of nowhere. So if you
don't like what Manasa has to offer, you don't have
much else to choose from. I guess it just depends
what you like to do. Because we've got Lake Mundara,
which is, without sounding like a tourist pamphlet, there's you know,
Lake Mundaru is a pretty big it's the water source,
but they've turned into a big nice lake where people
go fishing and boating and stuff. And then it's a
(20:54):
pretty multicultural place as well, as much as people probably
don't realize. So there's a lot of good restaurants and
stuff as well. So I don't mind it, but I
guess it just depends, you know, if you're wanting to
go and see Metallica on the weekend or something, you're
not going to be doing that from Mount Isa.
Speaker 6 (21:10):
What an appropriate thing in mining town.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Paunt Isa, he Troy, thanks for talking.
Speaker 10 (21:16):
To us, No problem.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Well, apart from all the issues with the mind, so
that part of the mind's closing down. There is this
whole problem with the young people and a lack of
things for the kids to do, Brad, there.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Is, but the relationships are strong. I think Danielle was
talking before. I think she said something like people have
got your back. People would bury a body for you basically. Okay,
so not a good idea in a mining town. Yeah,
probably a better way to get rid of it. It
kind of speaks to firm friends. And Rob Catter said
(21:50):
the same, how close these people are and so even
if you don't have kids, you're concerned about the issues
for their children.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, but there is. I mean there's lots of sporting clubs,
lack of the things for the kids through. Let's hear
from Rob Carder.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Oh, well, you know it was really nice.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Once a politician in Brisbane, a lady had come up
to me and said, Robert, we just want to say
to you. I spent a few days out in the
committee here and Mount Eya getting across some of the
issues here. And she said, you know, I get a
lot of people from my office in Brisbane. She said,
I got to say they don't have real problems. You
got problems. If you wanted to take education, health, population decline,
(22:30):
industry risk and industry growth and just about every metric
we could say, we've got the alcoholism, social disruption, crime,
you could put in a real negative slant on it.
But kriky, we still love being here.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Oh look, this is look. And I'll speak very bluntly
with you.
Speaker 9 (22:54):
You know, people say, oh, there's nothing to do, rah rah,
Well hang on a minute.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
We shouldn't have to put on something for you to do.
Speaker 9 (23:03):
You can still like, we've got a skate park here,
we've got a pump track, We've got like thirteen parks
or something, and nearly all of them have got play
equipment in it. Or how about you just go get
your mate and get on a bike and ride around
for a little bit, you know, not break into houses
or anything, but you know, just ride around on your bikes.
And my son especially was never without a ball in
(23:24):
his hand. He'd kick a ball around or him and
his mates would go, you know and do their stuff.
So I still think there's a lot to do in
Mount isab Igo.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Yeah, well, it mean she makes a good point. I
mean we didn't have much. I mean we were in Melbourne,
but we didn't have that much growing up as kids
to entertain ourselves, did we know?
Speaker 6 (23:39):
And in fact you talk about just a digress, you're
talk about it having a ball in your hand. Now,
I believe in your street there was somebody who moved out.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Oh sure, we're talking about Johnny Firthy who plays for
the NBA. Now, the kid that I practically raised. He
lives across the road and he used to play basketball
the time with the school at the local clubs and
and he got signed up for the NBA.
Speaker 6 (24:02):
It's the same in Central Australia. And I was talking
to a football or Rubert patheris ex Collingwood player who
went up and did some developmental work in the central
part of the Northern Teritory. And I said to him,
do you think that Indigenous people are better at football?
And he said he felt that this is his opinion.
He felt that it was because they have a ball
(24:24):
in their hand from the moment they can walk, really
they have a footy or they're having a game of footy,
and so.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
That because it's cheap entertainment, it is.
Speaker 6 (24:32):
And he said, there'll be eighty kids playing, forty on
each side playing footy. I'm just really intrigued by how
important a ball is. He said that by the time
you get to teenage years, you've seen every bounce to
that ball, and that's what makes you ten thousand hour experts.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's why the theory that you need
ten thousand hours of practicing your chosen field like us
in sotanwnup comedy, exactly ten thousand hours.
Speaker 6 (24:57):
And I bounced a lot of balls done.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
So you've got all the sporting clubs up there. You've
got the forty, the cricket, they've got tennis in Mount Eyeser,
all sorts of sports.
Speaker 6 (25:07):
Body bearing.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, the body bearing, the soccer cots.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
The body finding club.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
They've got a great pool up there, but this you
would hope, Okay, a big swim center outdoors, and the
outdoor swim center there right near the mine. Actually it's
right next to the mine. But the thing is the
example we're about to play illustrates how bored the kids
are a mount eyes are Oh, let's Shay. She runs
(25:33):
the pool there, she runs the swim center. Let her
tell the story.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
A couple of years ago we had some crocodiles in
the pool as well. Her little turtle last year also,
not that the turtle was too bad, but the crocodiles
were a bit more of a feat to get out.
Someone had been trapping them out at the lake and
brought them in overnight and threw them over the fence,
and they've gone into the water. I opened the pool
as normal. It was pitch black, spotlights on. I did
(25:59):
my walk around, and but the crocodiles were obviously in
the corners in the shadow. Early in the morning, just dormant.
And then as the water started churning up. We had
an aquaerobics class on. There was music pumping and everything
was going. They started to move around, and we don't
know whether they wanted to join in or just escape
the place fast. They looked pretty nervous and pretty scared
(26:22):
at first. To be honest, I don't know who was
more scared. A couple of people in the class started
screaming and running and didn't really know what was going
on at first until some of them were screaming lizard, crocodile, lizard, crocodile,
and yeah, went from there. So we could scoop some
out with the buckets. They were only little babies. Some
of them were a little bit faster, and we had
(26:43):
to get one of the ladies we know quite well
from the class. Actually, her husband came down. He's a
big fishing fella, and he brought cast nets and that's
how we got them.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Okay, So I just want to point out on you, Shay,
and I can imagine that's a problem. But I've seen
a lizard and I've seen a crocodile, and we're talking
a difference in meters.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah, you know, I think there were baby crocodiles, but
they were still scary.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
I know they they were very different. I believe that
they probably were similar. About twenty million billion years ago. Yes,
but they branched out.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Well, it's kind of like saying Wallaby kangaroo. Wellby kangaroo,
isn't it?
Speaker 6 (27:26):
Is it now? I felt like it's Molly saying Wallaby
horse wall Okay, that's probably what Bob Catta was talking about. Yes,
I mean being ripped apart over a series of days.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
In the swimming pool in Mount Isa. Well, anyway, that's
the thing about Man Isa. We're getting to the water
slide now because the kids are say bored, they're putting
crocodiles in the pool. Even though she didn't say they
were kids in that quote, but she told me later
they were kids that did it. Let's cross the Danny
Old slide, the former mayor and because they used to
be a brad. I don't know if you know that
(27:59):
they used to your water slide in Mount iSER.
Speaker 6 (28:02):
No, I did not know that.
Speaker 5 (28:05):
For a while. When I was a kid here we
had a water slide. Is that quite a ride on
my bike to be honest. But I would ride out
there do the water slide and have the time of
my life. And of course it was a private entity
and it went broke, all closed down. And the one
thing that I realized as a resident let alone. The
mayor is, we need more fun things for kids to do,
(28:26):
especially the older kids. You know, we're talking you for
crime and lots of things happening. You need to keep
these kids engaged, lots of fun things to do. A
water slide just made sense.
Speaker 6 (28:35):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
There we have it. Someone has suggested a water slide
for Mount iSER. So we get to the start of
the story.
Speaker 6 (28:43):
Bra all right, and so they didn't have that water slide.
The another ones we had with kids, we just had
slipping side. They had a big bit of plastic.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
A dad would put ten pegs in the plastic and
also be near the road. We used to do one
on the nature Strip when you could often go into
the driveway or the road.
Speaker 6 (28:56):
And you can put a little bit of on it
and if you slid onto that cooch grass there was
next to yours skim for this.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
So we've come to the end of the first episode.
So Mount Isa they're gonna get a water slide. Well,
it's been proposed, but there's quite a few hurdles to
cover and the incident occurs.
Speaker 6 (29:17):
Yeah, you don't just go and buy one at Clark Rubber.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
No, you don't it's a whole thing good intentions. Look
listen to next week because something goes wrong.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Queensland Government had gone to all the mines in Queensland
and said we want some money from you. Special meeting
of man Isser City Council. It was my idea for
the water slide, but it's not big enough.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
Slippery Slope a true crime podcast about Mount iSER and
the missing water slide.
Speaker 8 (29:50):
With Dave O'Neill and Brados.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Slippery Slope is written and hosted by Dave O'Neill and Brade.
Original music created by Itinerant Productions. Check out their website.
There's some great stuff there. Ww dot Itinerantproduction dot com.
Editing by Courtney Carthy, published by Neely Media. Thank you
to all the guests involved in the making of Slippery
Slope in this episode, Kim Coglan, Daniel Say, Troy Railing,
(30:17):
Robcatter and Shae Donovan at the pool. Find more information
in the episode notes or at nearly dot com dot au.
And thanks to the people of moun iSER
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