Introducing "Slippery Slope", a true crime series from Dave O'Neil and Brad Oakes

Hello, it's Stave O'Neill here to share a new true crime, well sort of podcast with you that I've made with a regular co host of the Debreuth, mister Bradford Oaks. We all know Oaksy. It's called Slippery Slope. You can listen here or search for it in your podcast app. It's a story of jealousy, aspiration, international relations, taking place mostly in Queensland's remote north central town of Mount iSER. Get the four episodes of Slippery Slope here every Wednesday,

She said, I got to say they don't have real problems.

You got problems.

And he said, what the fuck is that?

Some of them are screaming lizard crocodile, lizard crocodile.

And a water slide just made sense.

It was made in Turkey and we got a lot of flak off that too.

There was a bit of an issue in the sus Canal.

Like I thought everyone was having a crack.

They're delaying and on purpose and they're just trying to get it after the election.

Oh okay, of course this has happened to us in Mount isa What else would happen?

Slippery Slope a true crime podcast about Mount iSER and the Missing Water Slide with Dave O'Neill and Brad Oaks.

Well, Hello and welcome to a podcast. I'm Dave O'Neil.

Hi, I'm Brado's.

Now Brad tell everyone how we came across the story of Mount Isa and the Missing water Slide.

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 a channing person from the Mount isa Council, Erica Erica. She drove us around, showed us some very interesting sites and then told us this wonderful tale.

Now you've been to man Isiser before, No, I'd never been there. Yeah, and what was your first impression?

Is it in Australia? Yeah, it's it's a long while.

It's very isolated for people that I know. It's in the middle of Queensland. It's a huge mining town.

It's actually in Queensland, but it's closer to Darwin, yeah than it is to Brisbane.

Yeah, it's state capitol.

I've been there a few times. I hosted the one hundred year celebration and I've been I've I've done a gagin in Julia Creek. I always really liked Mount iSER because very much a working town as opposed to a five O town. Most people live there and most people work in the mine or on the surrounding industries in the mines.

I know, I think when I look at you, I think Western Queensland. You're like a stockland.

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 of this podcast.

I just point out to the we didn't turn to each other, and 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, and we both be 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 Eiser. 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 of Mount iSER?

Hard? Rugged? Hot?

Yeah, that's a very quick summation, but that kind of does sum it up.

It is.

I think it is a hard place to live, Brad.

In terms of hard, it was thirty one degrees when we're in Cans the day before.

Yeah, but that's humid heat.

Yeah.

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.

Yeah, it was like a pizza oven, and it got hotder and hotter. Daniel Slade'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 in maunt isa 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 of feeling of community that man Isa has. And maybe it's because we're so isolated of course this area.

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. You know, we had a son.

I knew he had a son.

I love the fact that the differential is just well, Bob Catter, who's a very colorful Australian federal politicians.

Being there forever to in Parliament, he 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.

Yeah, that's so funny and it's just one letter, the difference between Rob and Bob.

Yeah, it just clears it up straight away.

The people that don't know who Bob Cattery is. This is his famous quote on the news when they're I think I'm talking about gay marriage, weren't they?

It was It's about the referendum.

Yeah, and just hear how it takes a turn. It's only twenty seconds. But this will this will sum up Bob Catter.

People are titled to the sexual proclimities. Yeah, I mean, let there be a thousand blossoms blooms. So but I ain't spending any time warrant.

Of course.

In the meantime, every three months a person's torn to pieces by a crocodile.

And North Queensland there we go torn to pieces by a crocodile.

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.

It's unbelievable and that has become famous around the world. But that's not Rob Catter.

No, Rob's a lot more to day.

Rob Catter actually lives in man Isa. He's got an officer, he's got a house that he's got a family there.

He's the member for that area, yes, and which must be a very big state of lectionship.

He's got a plane that he flies around which he famolessly didn't put the landing thing down and skid it on the tarmac. I do that all the time in your plane. Let's hear from Rob catter Man.

Isser is a diamond and 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 inside.

It's just it's great and gets holdier.

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?

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.

Yeah, there's no gigs there, basically, is what you're saying.

But I could see, like 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 commensurate with the Australian outback.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is a desert, isn't it.

I think it is, So what's the desert?

Let's hear a bit more from Rob Catater talking about how it's very hard to leave the place.

For me, I'm a good working example.

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 backsely, 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 Nusia. I've got 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 in 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.

Here think about man eyes that no one's mentioned. It 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.

Yeah. I've been a cup early and the mine's outside.

Yeah, that's a pit too.

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 mind side used to be a bit posh, I believe back because of course it would be posh, because if you lived on the mind side, you go, I'll just grab some rubies from my mind. Well, 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.

Yeah.

So first impressions are really interesting with Mount Isa. Let's hear from Corgo again, the counselor talking about someone's first impression.

Tell this story a fuller cum into Mount iSER. Never been to mound iSER in his life. He went to town He's rugby 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 Barkley 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 across the Big Bridge and he was talking and next minute he looked and he said, what the fuck is that?

The mines was first, and then mant isa Do you know how they how was discovered? How man Isaac came to be.

I'm strongly paraphrasing here, so you know, feel free to equate 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 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 Nelly, because of course the indigenous people were there first, of course, and they're part of Ount Eyes, of course. And it used to be it was known for what sort of thing.

I believe it was known as the training.

It was well known for the quality of the stone 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 mineral. Congo seems to know what she's talking about when it comes with the history of Mount Isa.

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 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.

The miners had several owners over the years. Well, the vibe I get current owners is not a good relationship, I believe.

No, I believe it started out as Mount Eyes of mining. Yes, and for years you would see that in the stocks pages. Yes, you know m I am was synonymous. You know, it was something with b HP. It's one of the most productive mining areas in the world in terms of its size, and it's now falling into the hands of what did they say, bean counters encounters economers.

Yeah, I actually put the question to Rob Catter let's have a listen.

I'd say really bad. It was off the charts good. When I sort of first moved here and it was Mount Eyes and mines. They used to have a Christmas party. I'm told before my time they had a Christmas party in every kid in town. Every kid in town, regardless where their parents worked at the mine as not got 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 like a decent bloody toy. And you know, they did up sports fields and you know, helped people into housing and helped develop housing suburbs and really invested in creating a good livable city and keeping fi FO 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 because they do it.

They're not mining them the money people, aren't.

They from the global commodity traders where one of one hundred and fifty or more minds are in the world where respecting the respeca 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.

And they're not miners, they're economists.

Are the bankers?

Yeah, and like it's yeah, so I think that's where that's where the trouble is. We need a mining company to buy out Mount Eyes.

Yeah.

Hello, so I'm bringing you early.

I've realized we've got Troy rolling from the Northwest Weekly.

Hell a, Troy, I'm not too bad. Tell us what's your relationship with Mount Isaac? You there when you were a younger man?

Is that right?

Ah, 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.

Troy showed me around Mount Isaac when he said he went off and did other things. Bravaty worked for a very famous politician. But we're not going to interview me about that, right, All right?

Did you ever think you'd go back there?

I don't know.

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.

To be honest, it's not like a jail town where people are, oh, you've been way did five to seven when I.

Was talking to you. The relationship between Mount Is and the mine is really interesting because they're kind of proud of the mine, aren't they.

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'd be anti mining in Mount Iy you would be very lonely.

And now tell us about is part of the mind shutting down?

Soon?

It is?

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 Is.

Yeah, and what's the vibe about that that's obviously a bad thing.

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 what a mine does it runs out of stuff. There's other things on the horizon though that There's always minds being proposed out here as well, so it's not just the one manners of mine. There's quite a lot of mining production all around the area.

To be honest, has it run out of stuff or is it an economic decision?

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 cut mine over the top of it in the next few years.

Well, that'll create more jobs, won't it.

It will.

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.

And there's a resistance to five zoo there as well, too, isn't there that? Is there a concern that these jobs will be allocated at locals or.

Yeah, well that's always the big battle out here in any mining 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.

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? Was that right?

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, y'or 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 of it.

Hang On, hang on, hang on, hang on, Troy, you're asking two comedians if they've ever worked a twelve hour shift.

Answers, No, we did drive them Durham back we went.

You're right, once you finished a twelve hour shift in the physical job, you can't go to tennis or soccer practice your knack.

It is that three ships down the two or is that two shifts and closing down?

It's two ships now.

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.

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

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 it was in fact after the bombing of Darwin. I think that was an influence where they said, well, we have to have a hospital, it's safe.

And on top of that, there.

Was the Brisbane line, 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.

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 river bank and sort it all out.

You live in Mount Isaa, you work there. Talking about the lack of the things for young people to do, is that an issue you reckon?

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 Mundaro, which is, without sounding like a tourist pamphlet, there's you know, Lake Mundara 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 pretty multicultural place as well, as much as people probably

An appropriate thing in a mining town.

Policat Isa he Troy, thanks for talking to us.

No problem, 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 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 your 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 the same, how close these people are and so even if you don't have kids, you're concerned about the issues for the chi're.

Yeah, but there is. I mean, there's lots of sporting clubs. There is a lack of the things for the kids. Let's hear from Rob Catder.

Oh well, you know it was really nice.

Once a politician in Brisbane and 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 in Mount ISAA 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've got problems if you wanted to take education, health, population decline, industry risk and industry growth.

And she's just about every metric we could say.

We've got the alcoholism, social disruption, crime, you could put in real negative slant on it. But krikey, we still love being here.

Oh look this is look. And I'll speak very bluntly with you. You know, people say, oh, there's nothing to do, rah rah, Well hang on a minute, Like we shouldn't have to put on something for you to do. 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.

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?

And in fact you talk about just a digress, you're talking about it having a ball in your hand. Now, I believe in your street there was somebody who moved out.

Oh sure, we're talking about Johnny Firthy who plays for the NBA. Now, the kid that I practically raised cross the road and he used to play basketball the time with the school at the local clubs and then he got signed up for the NBA.

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 development of work in the central part of the Northern Cheritory and I said to him, do you think that Indigenous people are better at football? He said he felt that it misses his opinion. He felt that it was because they have a ball in their hand from the moment they can walk, really they have a footy or they're having a game of footy, and so.

That because it's cheap entertainment, it is.

And he said, to 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.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's why the theory that you need ten thousand hours of practicing your chosen field, like us in standup comedy, exactly ten thousand hours. And I bounced a lot of balls done. 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.

Body bearing, yeah.

The body bearing, the soccer cot.

The body finding club.

They've got a great pool up there, but this you would hope. Okay, a big swim center outdoors and 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 well. Let's shay she runs the pool there, she runs the swim center. Let her tell the story.

A couple of years ago we had some crocodiles in the pool as well. Had 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 normal, it was pitch black, spotlights were on. I did my walk around and check. But the crocodiles were obviously in

Okay, so I just want to point out your share and I can imagine that's that's a problem. But I've seen a lizard and I've seen a crocodile, and we're talking a difference in meters.

Yeah, you know, I think there were baby crocodiles, but they were still scary.

Yeah, 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.

Well, it's kind of like saying Wallaby kangaroo. Wellby kangaroo, isn't it?

Is it now?

I felt like it's more like saying Wallaby horsell. Okay, that's probably what Bob Catta was talking about. Yes, I mean being ripped apart over a series of.

Days 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 so 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 Danniel Sligh the former and because there used to be a bread I don't know if you know that there used to be a water slide in Mount iSER.

No, I did not know that.

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, especially the older kids. You know, we're talking you of crime and lots of things happening. You need to keep these kids engaged, lots

There we have it. Someone had suggested a water slide for Mount iSER. So we get to the start of the story bra.

All right, and so they didn't have that water slide.

The another ones we had with kids, we just had slipping slide. They had a big bit of plastic.

A dad would put ten pegs in the plastic and also be near the road. We used to do one on the nature trip and you could often go into the driveway.

Or the road and if you can put a little bit of desurger urgence on it and if you slid onto that cooch grass there was next to your's skim for this.

So we've come to the end of the first episode. So Mount Isa they're going to get a water slide. Well, it's been proposed, but there's quite a few hurdles to cover and the incident occurs.

Yeah, you don't just go and buy one at Clark Rubber, No.

You don't. It's a whole thing. Good intentions. Look listen to the next week because something goes wrong.

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.

Slippery Slope a true crime podcast about maunt iSER and the missing water slide with Dave O'Neill and Bredos.

Slippery Slope is written and hosted by Dave O'Neill and Bradoaks. Original music created by Itinerant Productions. Cheer their website. There's some great stuff there. Ww dot Itinerant Production 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 Cogland, Daniel Sleigh, Troy Railing, Robcatter and Shade Donovan at the pool. Find more information in the episode notes or at nearly dot com dot au.