Outback Queensland miner says ‘we’re getting softer’, as he recalls 1960s in Mt Isa heat

In outback Queensland air-conditioners run almost constantly in summer, with temperatures sitting above 40 degrees for days on end this week.

But before air-conditioners, Mount Isa, in the state’s north-west, was still a strong mining town and for those working, the lack of modern air-conditioning meant other technology was utilised, included machinery and underground ventilation systems now used to keep temperatures down.

When Alan Rackham moved to Mount Isa in the 60s he was living in a caravan with his wife with no air-conditioning.

He said during summer it was a lot like living in an oven.