Community
9 October, 2024
Hobby photographer holds portal to take Mount Isa residents back in time
Brian Adamson's collection has to be seen to be believed.
Anyone who is interested in the history of Mount Isa owes a debt of gratitude to the thankless efforts of Brian Adamson.
The 61-year-old has spent more than 35 years rummaging, fossicking and scouring through the forgotten corners of our city to save our stories.
He has also taken thousands of photographs of events and characters from the city since he was given his first camera when he was nine years old.
Mount Isa locals can now see a small collection of his Mount Isa Mines photos at an exhibition at Outback at Isa, which opened on Friday.
But Brian’s biggest ambition is to establish his own museum that tells the story of the development of the town side of Mount Isa.
When North West Weekly drove across the city with Brian, it quickly became apparent the softly-spoken former labourer, miner and truck driver, who was born and bred in Mount Isa, could easily fill a public space.
Scattered across his Mornington home and a West Street office space, which was kindly donated by Accountancy Services for his use for more than a decade, Brian has amassed a treasure trove of photographs, negatives, paintings, mementos and relics.
As one local said when they heard about this article: “I know he has a lot of stuff, but I didn’t know just how much.”
Brian has more than 450,000 unpublished photo negatives that tell the story of Mount Isa from the 1960s until 2020.
He has at least 30,000 printed photographs, including some that are almost 100 years old.
Some of his collection would be worth a lot of money on eBay – such as his signed Slim Dusty promotional poster from the 1983 Isa rodeo.
Brian has saved 8mm, 16mm and 35mm film strips and VHS tapes of the city, our sporting events and rodeo.
In one corner of his garage is a stack of framed Townies jerseys from the 1970s and 80s; in another cabinet drawer is a pile of rodeo tourist guides from the early 1990s; by the doorway is a 1950-style petrol bowser he has been carefully restored at his own cost; in his yard is the original train from the miniature railway at Kalkadoon Park.
Brian has systematically and painstakingly stored everything in countless folders, labelled cabinets and wooden boxes in the hope that it could one day find a permanent museum home.
Some of Brian’s projects take years to complete - he finds a photo of a building; years later, that same building might be demolished or burned down.
Brian takes a photo of the rubble and collects a small piece of timber or concrete as a memento.
He patiently waits for a new structure to be constructed in that space.
He then takes a photo of that.
Brian buys the materials to make a frame that can house all four items – the old building photo, the rubble photo, a physical momento and then the new building photo. He frames it together and bubble wraps the final product for safekeeping.
He has hand-built more than a dozen wooden boxes on wheels that can store these completed frames.
The extent of Brian’s dedication to saving our historical relics is all-consuming – he has rummaged through the Jessop Drive dump and has used a metal detector at old building sites to find coins and ornaments buried in the red dirt.
When Mount Isa Hospital planned to demolish some old wooden dongas plagued by white ants, Brian was on scene to look through the contents of the structures.
Buried under some rags and torn plastic was a hand-painted Mount Isa Mines canteen menu board, believed to be more than 60 years old. Lathered in dirt and wasp nests, Brian took it home and faithfully restored it.
The menu board is among the items that can be seen at the Outback at Isa exhibition.
Brian’s family has been involved – for many years, his elderly parents would take photos of public events he couldn’t attend, and his children now search through thrift stores in Brisbane and Townsville where they have found old MIM wage booklets from decades ago.
The organisation Brian established to catalogue his efforts, North Queensland Historical Collection, was incorporated last year and now he is seeking government and private investment to fund a local history museum.
Brian said his dedication to the task is simple.
“I just love this city – I care about its history and the generations of people who built this place,” he told North West Weekly.
“In a small way, collecting all these things pays tribute to them and celebrates what they have done. I want the museum to tell their story – these were tough people. I want locals and tourists to be able to come and see all the struggles. I think it is something special.”
The North Queensland History Collections exhibition can be viewed at Outback at Isa until January next year.