The Hills Family of Mt Isa: 2010–November “A trip to Clem Walton Park”

Clem Walton Park is about 50kms east of Mount Isa on the Barkly Highway. It is a great spot for those of us who don’t have a 4wd vehicle as it is fairly accessible – the roads are dirt/gravel and in the drier months not too bad to drive on.
The area encompasses a large lake and the Corella Dam – home to much bird life.
For ‘something’ to do one day – we all packed up (dog as well), with a cooked chicken, fresh bread rolls and some salad stuff – along with some extra bottles of water and made our way to Clem Walton Park – we are so glad we did – it was lovely!!
Here is just a sample of what we saw on our travels………………..

It’s hard work being the passengers!!

Ready to explore!!

Emi is trying out her climbing skills!!

Although it was very scenic – the water was not tempting at all – there are signs warning you not to swim in the water as there is algae that can be quite harmful if swallowed.

Some plant thing – it was quite pretty.

A trip to the toilet is required! (that's the building you can see!)

However – relieving oneself is a bit, shall I say, daunting!!

All four toilets are a refuge for these little fella’s!! I wasn’t up to the task of ‘dumping’ on them – so luckily – one toilet only had a few froggies – so we moved them on – gave the loo a flush to make sure none were going to creep up on us whilst sitting – and we were right to ‘go’!

Time to sit and cool off – have some lunch!! Poor Emi – her face is the same colour as her hair!

After lunch, some more exploring…….

Some of the famed bird life……….

These shots were taken from the other side of the dam wall – it is very pretty there.

A pair of very loved up & happy cranes. (check out the video of them after this post)

On the way home from Clem Walton Park, just a few km’s towards Mount Isa is Ghost town site of Mary Kathleen.
Mary Kathleen was first discovered in the 1860’s – but it was not until the late 1950’s that a large uranium deposit was found.
During the years of 1958 and 1963, 4500 tonnes of Uranium Oxide was extracted. The mine lay idle for some time until in 1974 when it was re-opened again. The mine finally closed down again in 1982 after a further haul of 4802 tonnes of Uranium Oxide – the next year the town was empty.
All that is left now is the roads, a bridge and concrete pads of various business places – it would a great place to camp out for a night or two. (information taken from Wikipedia)

The Entrance to Mary Kathleen

The sign reads “A syndicate of eight headed by Clem Walton and Norm McConachy discovered this ore body on July 4th 1954. Two days later the leases were pegged and the deposit named “Mary Kathleen” in memory of the wife of Norm McConachy. Production was based on the contracts for the sale of the uranium and in 1984 production ceased and the township auctioned off. Even though no buildings remain, the ghost town like atmosphere makes one wonder what the flourishing community would have been like”