Hi,
Been a busy time with Campdraft, Mount Isa Golf Open and State Rugby League 11-12 Queensland Championships.
I have met so many interesting people the past week and loved listening to their stories and reminiscing.
I played two days of Golf with Gordon King. He is 84 and just kept putting it up the fairway. The first day we played with Bill Donovan who just happened to start his apprenticeship at the MIM Copper Smelter when he was 17 - his tradesman? Gordon King.
The next day we played with “Jiga” and “Nugget” and turns out Peter “Jiga” Jago worked at Mary K with Gordon and so they were able to reminisce.
I ran the water and tended to injurie for the North West Queensland 10-11 years Rugby League team. Loved catching up with their parents who were from as far away as Barcaldine.
As the days went on the kids personalities started to come out and my only regret was not having more time with them. I look forward to following their progress in sport and life and catching up with their parents again.
The visitors from the city had a whale of a time in Mount Isa and got to experience the campdraft and rodeo and life in the bush. Hopefully they come back soon.
The visitors from Brisbane found it hard to comprehend that when they landed in Brisbane that night and arrived home some North West families would still be travelling.
PS Everyone tells me how easy doing a website is. Either their definition of easy is different to mine or I am an idiot because I finished writing last week and have been trying to organise, upload, post etc since then.
Eddie Tyson was a gentleman and a truly exceptional athlete. It is very rare that someone can transform the way a position is played. Many tried to copy him but there was only ever one “Mucka”.
Beccy Miller spent Christmas babysitting some of the most expensive horse flesh in the country. Her job was to prepare them for their future with maybe a Melbourne Cup or Golden Slipper in it.
The ISA Rats are holding the first ever Marathon in Mount Isa. We spoke to the fastest man to ever win the half marathon and how he ended up in Mount Isa from Dunedin.
This month's stories
Beccy Miller
Beccy Miller's family have always had racehorses. So it was no surprise that she wanted to go where it all begins, a stud in the Hunter Valley where babies take their first steps to becoming a champion.
Stafford Thompson
In 2007 26-year-old Stafford Thompson caused a moment of panic at the finish line of the annual Mine-to-Mine half marathon. A couple of weeks later the physiotherapist from Otago became the first Mount Isa winner of the Townsville Marathon.
Nobby Clark
Nobby Clark was a man who backed himself and stood up for what he believed. If that meant staring down Paul Keating, Alan Bond or John Elliott than so be it. Which was a big part of why his bank survived a number of banking scandals and employees gave him a standing ovation at his final AGM.
Nicole Pratt
Having everything doesn't guarantee success. It takes hard work, courage and commitment and the hurdles country kids overcome help steel them for the challenges ahead. Nicole Pratt is the proof and now she is passing the lessons on.
Five Minute Fillup Podcasts
This week’s listen: A Leap of Faith
Having someone you trust to catch you if you fall makes it easier to take a chance. You need to find those people who believe in you and are willing to drive you to be the person they know you can be. A leap of faith requires belief; sometimes it will be the belief of others that gives you the courage to take it.
A Final Note
Every story this month is really the same one — someone refusing to accept the hand they've been dealt, and quietly getting on with it anyway. I find that worth writing about. I hope you find it worth reading.
"The world isn't as bad as the news makes it. There are good people everywhere — you just have to know where to look."
Until next time,
James
Stories of people, place and perseverance