After five years of working as a physiotherapist and a year doing a Post Graduate Certificate on Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Science Stafford Thompson was looking for a change.
He and wife Bridget decided to exchange the cold winds of Otago for the Mount Isa heat and while it was a different world it gave them new experiences and set them up for life.
“Bridget and I were newly married and just looking for something a bit different and to earn some money.” He recounted. “We did a year at the hospital there and it was just a good opportunity to do something different, earn some good money and effectively help significantly with the mortgage of our home.”
The first thing that hit Stafford was the heat and over time the distance to travel.
“So obviously the first thing is just the physical heat, right? You're coming from New Zealand and a hot day in New Zealand is a cold day. Well, you're wearing a jersey today. I bet you it's 24, 25 degrees today.”
We have different levels of hot according to Stafford and the other feature to strike him was the dryness. It contrasted with the green of New Zealand which is very wet compared to our rugged landscape.
“The wet versus the dry, the closeness versus the distance the heat versus the cold, just the contrast.”
While the size of Australia and distances travelled is hard to comprehend for overseas visitors it is those very challenges that create the uniqueness of rural towns.
Stafford and Bridget enjoyed the mix of people, those who were born and raised and had long term family here and others who were here for short periods. For many it is the mines that lures them and the sight of it was an eye-opener.
“It's a pretty impressive mine, just the size of it right in town.” Stafford recalled. “And I remember someone saying to me, something like half of Queensland's revenue came out of Mount Isa at some time.”
Not missing the opportunity to see the country while here the pair made several trips and Bridget was able to do so for work at various times. While Stafford was stationed at the Mount Isa Hospital as a physiotherapist Bridget was an Occupational Therapist and travelled to outlying areas with the mental health team.
The couple spent time around around Cairns and Townsville as well and the Northern Territory, again commenting on the contrast from the green of the coast and red of the interior.
The flatness and distance was also illuminating for someone from the land of the long white cloud.
“It just went forever. the horizon just keep on going. You couldn't see the end, which is pretty good.”
He used the wide open spaces to his advantage when it came to running often running through stations around town on his longer efforts. The most dangerous animal he would have come across in New Zealand on a run would be a kiwi or rogue ram so he was unprepared out bush one day.
“I remember coming around a corner and seeing this massive red kangaroo.” Stafford remembered with a hint of shock still in his voice. “I just **** myself because, you know, he he had just these massive biceps and he was taller than me and he had these massive testicles.
“I was just looking at him and I was like, oh, ****, what have I done? And I was like, so I just slowly backed away because I thought, ****, if he had a go at me, I would be in a world of hurt because I was a long way from Mount Isa at that stage. And I don't even know I had a cell phone.”
Regular routes around Mount Isa were a staple and the scenic route to the Lake was another he tackled, although he was again caught out due to the difference between Mount Isa and home.
Invited to the lake for a BBQ with a few mates from work he decided to run out. Making the mistake of not taking drinking water by the time he arrived he was not in a good state.
Someone had advised him not to jump in the lake and then he saw a sign saying you can't drink the water. Finding a shower in the old kiosk he decided that would be his saviour to help him cool off.
“I don't know what I was thinking, but I was expecting to get like a real cold shower, right? I got under the shower and I turned it on and obviously it was hot, hot, hot water. I was, oh no. Maybe it will get cooler but it got hotter and hotter.”
It is a nice run to the lake and the Isa RATS have actually changed the route for the half-marathon and the name. The original race was called the Mine-to-Mine and started at George Fisher and finished in town.
It is now called the Outback to the Stack and starts at the Lake to town although last year the club reversed the route so the race finished at Lake Moondarra.
When Stafford won the race in 2007 the finish was at the Irish Club Oval. Long time Isa RATS member Marilyn Drynan used to start the stop watches at George fisher and then come in and start the 10k and 5k runs as well as a bike ride they used to host.
Until Stafford Thompson there had not been a problem.
I was waiting with others at the Irish Club Oval when someone came in and said there was somebody at the lights near the mine admin building. When asked if it was a 10k or 5k runner they answer was he had a half-marathon bib on.
We looked up and Stafford was coming across the railway tracks and panic set in because Marilyn and the stopwatches were no where to be seen. We quickly came up with a plan to start a stop watch when he crossed the finish line and deduct it from the time when Marilyn arrived.
Luckily when runners came into the Irish Club oval they had to do a lap and as Stafford began his Marilyn’s car came flying across the railway line.
She pulled into the Irish Club oval and the car was still moving as she jumped out to arrive at the finish line as Stafford crossed it. Bridget finished in a place and the couple went to Townsville a couple of weeks later where Stafford won the marathon in 2:36:23.
Returning to New Zealand they carried a little more than memories. They were ready to have kids and the first was born not long after leaving Mount Isa.
“Actually, probably about eight months after we left Mount Isa, I'd say she was born.”
When Mali was young she used to go around and tell people that she was made in Australia. Now 17 she is into her Rugby and Surf Life Saving.
16 year old Isaac was a talented runner but realised there is more glory in Rugby than running and in summer is a crack batter, scoring 113 off 64 balls in a recent tournament. Their baby Esme (14) is a rower and mum and dad find there weekends pretty full.
“Every Saturday they've got like three or four sports on and so that's just, that's our priority. Maybe when they’ve left home, I'll get back into it (running) again.”
Prior to coming to Mount Isa Stafford was a highly ranked runner who took out the 2007 New Zealand Marathon title. When he returned to Dunedin he gave the shoes a rest to look after his growing family and career.
When the competitive juices were let loose again in 2013 he began by winning the 3 Peaks race he won in 2005 before heading to Australia. The three peaks encompass the summits of Flagstaff, Swampy and Cargill and Stafford won it five times in a row from 2013.
His win in 2013 was in miserable conditions full of mud, drizzle and single figure temperatures. Adding to the misery of the weather, Stafford suffered a fall coming off the Cargill walkway, about 3km from the finish line, and was later diagnosed with two broken bones in his arm.
In 2015 Stafford was not going to do attempt to make it three in a row because he was concentrating on another race. However, the forecast was for a sunny day and though the day turned out not be as bad as his previous two wins it was still held in drizzling rain.
His approach to training was completely different from his younger days as he worked training around family with late-evening runs and a much more relaxed approach. That relaxed approach may include a bit of guitar jamming.
Bridget bought him one to learn to play and it may be because as a 6-year-old at his annual school mass Stafford belted out a quick rendition of Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name.
“While I got a loud cheer from the children, I was quickly removed from the lectern. Rest assured, that was the last time I was nominated to give ''prayers of the faithful'.”
Stafford worked as physiotherapist in Dunedin but he and wife Bridget have now relocated to Wellington.
Bridgett won and placed in a number of races after having their three children; many years after winning the under-14 national cross-country title. She is now in the public service as principal advisor to the executive working of the regulator responsible for health and safety in New Zealand.
In Australia we have WorkSafe and its equivalent in New Zealand is an organization called ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation). Stafford now manages health contracts and health services for ACC.
Bridget Thompson
They were recently reminded of their time in Mount Isa thanks to a familiar face. Bob Katter was in the news and Stafford said that when you're a small town dominated by Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth it is good having someone who's an advocate for his community.
There time in Mount Isa was to do some things quite different and set themselves up for their future. Not only was it financially beneficial but also professionally, because the hospital was so small and yet covered such a big area, they got the opportunity to do a lot of things they wouldn't normally get to do.
“Both of us are very grateful for what Mount Isa gave to us.”
And though the couple have moved on they are always reminded of Mount Isa.
“My last boss worked for the Flying Doctors in Mount Isa and currently work with someone who sits two desks from me who used to work at the ICU in Mount Isa.”