I went to camp up at Paluma with St Joseph’s Year 5s last week and stayed on in Townsville for a night before heading to Cairns for a conference.
Headed up the road for dinner at the local and a couple of young girls were selling raffle tickets to raise money for different National championships in Softball.
Naturally I won the meat tray but couldn’t use it as I was travelling so the girls mother came over to see what I wanted to do with.
Angela Wright left Mount Isa 11 years ago and I could tell right away which two of the three girls were her daughters, Dani-Maree and Peyton.
Flanked by Angela’s daughters Peyton and Demi
The next day before heading off I had a game of Golf at Townsville Golf Course and played with two old blokes who spent time out here. Glen worked at Number 2 and the old rock drill workshop.
Dave was an Englishman who worked for QRX for about three years from around 1971. He was a steward at the races and we talked about him meeting Lord Derby and he remembered Lou Christaudo because Dave’s wife was a pharmacist also, though she worked at Menzies in West Street.
He remembers his introduction to North West racing vividly. “Picture this, I was at Royal Ascot in England one week and the next week I was at a grass-fed meeting in Urandangi,”
Over the years I have been involved in the lives of Trevor and Erica Shaw’s children. That has allowed me to get to know Trevor and some of his story and knew he had come here from Canada.
Sitting and listening to his journey was a privilege and I hope you enjoy his story.
I will always remember the first state of origin game and can always picture the scenes and hear the voice of Billy J Smith describing the action. During research over the years i recalled a photo of Billy J Smith celebrating his 21st birthday with his parents at a Mount Isa restaurant.
I knew the story of the pole-sit fundraiser and had spoken to Bruno Cullen, one of the participants, about it. Many radio and television presenters got their start in Mount Isa and Billy J Smith went on to one of the best careers in the business.
I stumbled across Hazel Pritchard when I found the story of the Argent Hotel fire: All it said was Les Scanlan set an alarm to listen to his fiance playing Cricket in England. Off I set to find out who she was and found an extraordinary young lady.
I hope you enjoy the stories and the podcast.
Feature Story
The Shaw Man
From the Canadian Rockies to the rocks of North West Queensland. Trevor Shaw has lived a life.
This month's stories
The Girl Bradman
How the first ever women's Test Cricket match in England saved lives in Mount Isa.
Billy J Smith
From 4LM to calling the first State of Origin and much, much more.
He was the voice of Rugby League in Queensland in the 70s and 80s.
Five Minute Fillup Podcasts
This week’s listen: A Little Now - A Lot Later
For young people the future is so far away. There is too much fun to be had now to worry about later. They need to know that there is a way to have their cake and it when it comes to enjoying today, while preparing for tomorrow.
Have a listen →
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
