I loved Mount Isa when I lived here 1977-1979 when my mum and Dad decided to return to England as i was only 7 when going back .... Went to Sunset State School and my teacher was Miss Douglas ... My best times were in Mount Isa ..and did not want to leave
Lived there from 1970 to 1987. Have to agree on many points. I made a lot of friends there and it was a good place to bring up a young family. The Isa could be a very sophisticated place because of the multi cultural population. I joined a recorder consort who played medieval music which was unusual for a country town I also joined a boxing club when I first got there as it was such a rough place, so it had both ends of the spectrum. The summers were horrific whilst the winter was glorious. I think it appeared a friendly place as most of the occupants were from elsewhere so had no family there and so actively sought other friendships. Alcohol was a major problem when I was there and heavy drinking was the norm with the associated problems. Would like to visit once more but could not contemplate living there again.
Wow, a superb video thank you for posting. I lived in the Isa from 1971 to 1974. The lifestyle had s profound positive affect on me. Wonderful to watch this all those years later and reminisce.
I lived in Mt Isa for 12 years in the 80's and 90's and the happiest time for me was the day I finally drove out of the place. I've moved around a lot, all over this country, lived in cities, lived in the bush and all I can say is the place must have changed a hell of lot since I left, or these people are kidding themselves. Lets have a look at the Isa back then: 1) Without a doubt, it was the most violent place I have ever lived in. Mardi Gras night, before the annual rodeo kicked off, was something you took your kids to, just to watch the street parade and then it was off home quick smart. If you didn't, you'd get caught up in the numerous brawls and street fights that broke for the rest of the night. Out at the rodeo grounds, it was no better with constant brawls between drunken out of town ringers and the equally drunk locals. Fun for the whole family. 2) A friendly town. Hardly, but that's not surprising. Country and bush people constantly swallow their own bullshit narrative that they are "so friendly", when the exact opposite is true most of the time. The vast majority of them are, at the very least, suspicious of outsiders and at their worst, downright hostile towards them. In the 12 years I spent in Mt Isa, all of the friendships I made there were with people from other states and even other countries. Not one of them was a local. 3 ) Opportunities for your children. Again, I have to say that the place might have changed since I lived there, but apart from an apprenticeship at the mine, there was nothing else for my son to look forward to and even less for my daughter. All of the guidance officers at my son's high school offered nothing more hopeful to him than a job at the mine. If he hadn't have taken the bit between his teeth and done an extra carricular course in computers at the local TAFE off his own bat, I shudder to think of where he would be now. He certainly wouldn't have had the almost 20 years up in the IT industry that he has now. Finally, when people find out that I lived in the Isa and they ask me what it was like, I'm only half joking when I tell them that the place is so shitty that when I become king, I'm going to have it nuked!
I was born and raised in mount isa and I enjoyed my childhood there but pretty much agree. It was definitely a tough and violent place back in those days ..and the place is badly polluted. Left there over 20 years ago
@@aftrdrk7263 Re; the pollution. I was living in the Isa during an industrial dispute lock-out. Neither of the smelters were working, which meant - no sulfur fumes drifting over the town. Suddenly the town was alive with flies. Apparently the fumes from the copper smelter pretty much kept most of the flies away! That's some pollution!
@@aftrdrk7263 Yes! I remember when MIM bought up all of the houses along a thin strip of land on the mine side of the river, between Flower St and the Barkly Highway, because all of the land was contaminated with lead. They made up some bullshit excuse for this, but it was lead contamination. They bought houses over on the town side for all of the people who lived there. I knew an old lady who had lived in her timber framed house there all of her life and she wanted them to just buy her a block of land and transport her house to it. MIM flatly refused. I guess they were shit scared the whole house was full of lead. Near where Isa Street runs into the beginning of the Barkly, near the railway line, MIM carted in a huge amount of topsoil and made a small hill that they landscaped and planted with native plants. It doesn't fit in with the natural look of the country and just looks weird. Me thinks there is something nasty under it!
Im from India I am living in Perth but as i see in this video I liked it because that people those live there they love each other doesn't matter where are you from , respect the place and respect the people where you live thats what we need ,end of the day u not gona take anything with you , so just love each other and spread love ❤️
Being an indian I have lived in an middlemount while working with Anglo-American mines at Foxleigh or Lake lindsay and i must say that aussies are wonderful people and Australia is the best country to live....... I feel proud that I am an proud Aussie now.
Stayed in Mt Isa in 2008 for one year. Nice town, looking 100% different from those of Russia or Kazakhstan (where I live) built up around mines or factories. Friendly people, good roads, places to go out after hours. Yet, it is all true for winter time (May - September) when it's dry and no snakes or spiders or else.
I know Mt. Isa well enough, having spent the bulk of my high school years there. And so much of what is said here, in fact, all of it is so true, and I have so many fond memories and such nostalgia for the place. But it remains a marketing clip and ignores other truths, not least of which are the great depression the boarded up shops, the social issues around alcohol, the FIFO (fly in fly out) culture that emerged in the '90s, the sulphur fumes the blow over the town now and again, that it gets so hot you can't walk anywhere barefoot at times ;-) ... let's just say a real picture of a place, a documentary and not an marketing clip, would share some of the pitfalls too and some of the down sides.
indeed, its not bad to stick around for half a year or so but the place is not what it was in the 70s and 80s from what I heared. Plus population is declining and many "cultural" things are shutting down.
I grew up in the Isa and couldnt wait to get out of there, moved to tasmania when I was 21 and have NO desire whatsoever to go back. Its a huge hole and apart for the pub and drugs there isnt much else for people to do unless you have plenty of money and can afford a 4 wheel drive to go bush when you want. I loved my childhood and my dad taking me bush and camping but Now Im glad I got out.
I can’t disagree with you Michelle 😂 Other than the good pay, my favourite part about Mt Isa was when I saw it in my rear view mirror and I was driving away 😂😭
@@nadinephyllisfittt2620 I have one of those T-shirts. It's a prized possession that is going to be handed down to my son to make sure he never again sets foot in that toxic dump.
Finished my high school here 2002 - 2003. My intro to Australia. Very friendly locals and a good lifestyle overall. Because there's no clubs etc, people have to make their own entertainment. You would have higher prices on some items, but these were mostly luxuries. If you like the quiet and nature then it's good. It's a good clean vibe compared to the cities.
You wouldn't think so but it's a great place to live, the people are friendly and there is plenty to do, there is always something going on and you can't avoid getting involved.
not sure about tradespeople working the mines but the workers are I think on around 160k a year. I was told this is justified because apparently its fairly dangerous and accidents do happen relatively frequently.
More if you work underground. electricians on the surface get around 120K. The pay used to be better. 12hr rotating shift work which everyone hates. The problem is people go to the Isa expecting to only stay a couple of years to make some money, then 10 years later you are still there with a mortgage, kids and a drinking problem.
just an add for one of the most poisonous towns in australia spot the aussie the game in MOUNT ISA now spot the local the game of choice tell the truth fly in fly outs killing the town
What is the least expensive way to immigrate? The College industry is very expensive, for those who intend to go with only the 2nd degree and the technician. I intend on truck driver work. I already have 15 thousand dollars
Don't forget that Mount Isa is a large melting pot of different nationals,around 60 different origins live there,also Mount Isa is area is about the same as Switzerland
I loved Mount Isa when I lived here 1977-1979 when my mum and Dad decided to return to England as i was only 7 when going back .... Went to Sunset State School and my teacher was Miss Douglas ... My best times were in Mount Isa ..and did not want to leave
mt isa was very different in the 70-90s. same as many rural cities it has kinda suffered from globalisation
Lived there from 1970 to 1987.
Have to agree on many points.
I made a lot of friends there and it was a good place to bring up a young family.
The Isa could be a very sophisticated place because of the multi cultural population. I joined a recorder consort who played medieval music which was unusual for a country town I also joined a boxing club when I first got there as it was such a rough place, so it had both ends of the spectrum.
The summers were horrific whilst the winter was glorious.
I think it appeared a friendly place as most of the occupants were from elsewhere so had no family there and so actively sought other friendships.
Alcohol was a major problem when I was there and heavy drinking was the norm with the associated problems.
Would like to visit once more but could not contemplate living there again.
Born there in 65. lived there for 20 years. Great town to grow up in but could never move away from the coast now.
This is pure gold. Love it.
Wow, a superb video thank you for posting. I lived in the Isa from 1971 to 1974. The lifestyle had s profound positive affect on me. Wonderful to watch this all those years later and reminisce.
I lived in Mt Isa for 12 years in the 80's and 90's and the happiest time for me was the day I finally drove out of the place. I've moved around a lot, all over this country, lived in cities, lived in the bush and all I can say is the place must have changed a hell of lot since I left, or these people are kidding themselves. Lets have a look at the Isa back then:
1) Without a doubt, it was the most violent place I have ever lived in. Mardi Gras night, before the annual rodeo kicked off, was something you took your kids to, just to watch the street parade and then it was off home quick smart. If you didn't, you'd get caught up in the numerous brawls and street fights that broke for the rest of the night. Out at the rodeo grounds, it was no better with constant brawls between drunken out of town ringers and the equally drunk locals. Fun for the whole family.
2) A friendly town. Hardly, but that's not surprising. Country and bush people constantly swallow their own bullshit narrative that they are "so friendly", when the exact opposite is true most of the time. The vast majority of them are, at the very least, suspicious of outsiders and at their worst, downright hostile towards them. In the 12 years I spent in Mt Isa, all of the friendships I made there were with people from other states and even other countries. Not one of them was a local.
3 ) Opportunities for your children. Again, I have to say that the place might have changed since I lived there, but apart from an apprenticeship at the mine, there was nothing else for my son to look forward to and even less for my daughter. All of the guidance officers at my son's high school offered nothing more hopeful to him than a job at the mine. If he hadn't have taken the bit between his teeth and done an extra carricular course in computers at the local TAFE off his own bat, I shudder to think of where he would be now. He certainly wouldn't have had the almost 20 years up in the IT industry that he has now.
Finally, when people find out that I lived in the Isa and they ask me what it was like, I'm only half joking when I tell them that the place is so shitty that when I become king, I'm going to have it nuked!
I was born and raised in mount isa and I enjoyed my childhood there but pretty much agree. It was definitely a tough and violent place back in those days ..and the place is badly polluted. Left there over 20 years ago
@@aftrdrk7263 Re; the pollution. I was living in the Isa during an industrial dispute lock-out. Neither of the smelters were working, which meant - no sulfur fumes drifting over the town. Suddenly the town was alive with flies. Apparently the fumes from the copper smelter pretty much kept most of the flies away! That's some pollution!
TombstoneHeart not to mention the Lead that’s literally in the dirt all through that place .
@@aftrdrk7263 Yes! I remember when MIM bought up all of the houses along a thin strip of land on the mine side of the river, between Flower St and the Barkly Highway, because all of the land was contaminated with lead. They made up some bullshit excuse for this, but it was lead contamination.
They bought houses over on the town side for all of the people who lived there. I knew an old lady who had lived in her timber framed house there all of her life and she wanted them to just buy her a block of land and transport her house to it. MIM flatly refused. I guess they were shit scared the whole house was full of lead.
Near where Isa Street runs into the beginning of the Barkly, near the railway line, MIM carted in a huge amount of topsoil and made a small hill that they landscaped and planted with native plants. It doesn't fit in with the natural look of the country and just looks weird. Me thinks there is something nasty under it!
2- facts. folks in rural bush communities are delusional and/or pathological liars. the majority of them treat outsiders with disdain and suspicion.
Im from India I am living in Perth but as i see in this video I liked it because that people those live there they love each other doesn't matter where are you from , respect the place and respect the people where you live thats what we need ,end of the day u not gona take anything with you , so just love each other and spread love ❤️
Being an indian I have lived in an middlemount while working with Anglo-American mines at Foxleigh or Lake lindsay and i must say that aussies are wonderful people and Australia is the best country to live....... I feel proud that I am an proud Aussie now.
Stayed in Mt Isa in 2008 for one year. Nice town, looking 100% different from those of Russia or Kazakhstan (where I live) built up around mines or factories. Friendly people, good roads, places to go out after hours. Yet, it is all true for winter time (May - September) when it's dry and no snakes or spiders or else.
I know Mt. Isa well enough, having spent the bulk of my high school years there. And so much of what is said here, in fact, all of it is so true, and I have so many fond memories and such nostalgia for the place.
But it remains a marketing clip and ignores other truths, not least of which are the great depression the boarded up shops, the social issues around alcohol, the FIFO (fly in fly out) culture that emerged in the '90s, the sulphur fumes the blow over the town now and again, that it gets so hot you can't walk anywhere barefoot at times ;-) ... let's just say a real picture of a place, a documentary and not an marketing clip, would share some of the pitfalls too and some of the down sides.
Saccharine. Reality is not like this.
Shivers! That wasn't in the brochure!
indeed, its not bad to stick around for half a year or so but the place is not what it was in the 70s and 80s from what I heared. Plus population is declining and many "cultural" things are shutting down.
I grew up in the Isa and couldnt wait to get out of there, moved to tasmania when I was 21 and have NO desire whatsoever to go back. Its a huge hole and apart for the pub and drugs there isnt much else for people to do unless you have plenty of money and can afford a 4 wheel drive to go bush when you want. I loved my childhood and my dad taking me bush and camping but Now Im glad I got out.
Pff you're from Gympie.
I was born in Gympie but went to Isa when I was 3 till I was 21 so whats that got to do with anything? do I know you? boob72
I can’t disagree with you Michelle 😂 Other than the good pay, my favourite part about Mt Isa was when I saw it in my rear view mirror and I was driving away 😂😭
@@nadinephyllisfittt2620 I have one of those T-shirts. It's a prized possession that is going to be handed down to my son to make sure he never again sets foot in that toxic dump.
the only thing I miss is that my brother is buried there after being killed in a car accident when he was 9 yrs old
im from mount isa kalkadoon mob traditional owners ,lol im in the video what memories i was so young than
Good old aussie town. Authentic people up there 👍
thankyou loved this I should never of left Mount Isa
Finished my high school here 2002 - 2003. My intro to Australia. Very friendly locals and a good lifestyle overall. Because there's no clubs etc, people have to make their own entertainment. You would have higher prices on some items, but these were mostly luxuries. If you like the quiet and nature then it's good. It's a good clean vibe compared to the cities.
You wouldn't think so but it's a great place to live, the people are friendly and there is plenty to do, there is always something going on and you can't avoid getting involved.
On my radar for places to visit
My hometown, I was born and bred there of Italian parents.
Lived there and went to Townveiw state school 69-73
Whats the mining money like??.. im on $45 an hour as a polywelder in WA.. can i expect a similar pay packet here? Living in the town that is..
not sure about tradespeople working the mines but the workers are I think on around 160k a year. I was told this is justified because apparently its fairly dangerous and accidents do happen relatively frequently.
More if you work underground. electricians on the surface get around 120K. The pay used to be better. 12hr rotating shift work which everyone hates. The problem is people go to the Isa expecting to only stay a couple of years to make some money, then 10 years later you are still there with a mortgage, kids and a drinking problem.
just an add for one of the most poisonous towns in australia
spot the aussie the game in MOUNT ISA
now spot the local the game of choice
tell the truth fly in fly outs killing the town
95% of people on this video don't live here anymore :)
Need information about the mines closing down in 2025 because I'm looking to investment property so any information would help with my
Choice
What is the least expensive way to immigrate? The College industry is very expensive, for those who intend to go with only the 2nd degree and the technician. I intend on truck driver work. I already have 15 thousand dollars
No dislikes shows it...
I live in Mt Isa it's hot and nice
Is any brazilian living there
To far from the ocean
Don't forget that Mount Isa is a large melting pot of different nationals,around 60 different origins live there,also Mount Isa is area is about the same as Switzerland
I enjoyed working and living in Mt. Isa......now its the rat race, congestion of Sydney....sad. Very sad.
Too much talking