Dear Mackay,
It’s been just over a week since I left your dusty streets and high-vis vests. Living in ‘BrisVegas’ suits me better, but you have plenty of charm too.
I would describe you to friends and friendly strangers as an ‘awkward’ teenager of a place; somewhere between a quaint town and a metropolitan city. My colleague has called you a ‘frontier town’, which I feel is pretty accurate. Men roam the streets with mining money, outnumbering the women. I didn’t mind the work boots and bright yellow jackets. As a carpenter’s daughter, I’m at home with working folk. What I found most challenging was the transience of the people. When hundreds (if not thousands) work away during the week (Chris included), I think community suffers.
During my 11 months in Mackay, three Indian restaurants opened. Whole wings of Canelands, the regional shopping mall, started to flutter. It’s clear the economy is healthy and growing, although perhaps at a rate too high for the infrastructure to keep up. I hear that Mackay council rates are the highest in all of Australia, which I hope will make for support services, road works and community spaces to match the new shops and new workers. I found it depressing that Canelands was the community meeting space. In Shanghai, a city of 23 million, people connected, danced, exercised and celebrated in the parks, even in the winter.
Arriving in November last year, I experienced the Mackay summer of sticky and at times, suffocating heat. The whir and green light of the air con ran through the night when I slept under only a sheet. I learned to love the cool blast upon entering climate controlled shops and offices.
People told me that Mackayites were already sorted into friendship circles, but I found most people warm and welcoming. Maybe it was my charming Canadian accent. Through freelancing and working, I met some really lovely people who turned out to be really lovely friends.
One of my favourite connections came about by interviewing a local diesel mechanic on his ‘suped up man shed. Hanging in his shed was a Vancouver Canucks scarf among other mementos of world travels. His son Kellen was working in Whistler where he met Kim from Nova Scotia and brought her back to Mackay. Being bold (and juicy!) I passed on my number and we’ve counted Kellen and Kim as close friends ever since. Living in Mackay gave me the confidence and, to be honest, the sense of urgency, needed to put myself out there. Thanks for that, Mackay.
The best part about living in Mackay was working for Reef Catchments. As the Communications Officer, I got to work with everyone at the office to support their projects which ranged from building engineered log jams to running volunteer beach management sessions. With Reef Catchments I travelled through the Mackay region and beyond to Townsville, Canberra and even Adelaide. I learned about cane farming, grazing, fish ladders, pest management, lighting fires and so much more. I was also lucky enough to become friends with my colleagues, friends I’ll have for life.
My wonderful colleagues taught me about the birds, the trees and the rivers. They awakened in me a desire to know my natural environment. While I’ve always had a green bend, working with the scientists and land managers of Reef Catchments taught me the value of learning about environment, bringing to mind that age-old adage “knowledge is power.” I’ll miss the 6PM lorikeet choir, the magpie that pecked my office window every afternoon and the ibis that stalked through the botanic gardens during my long runs.
More often than not, I would hear locals and visitors groan about Mackay. I used to be a groaner, to be honest. I missed the convenience of city life, the accessibility to culture, the sense of security needed to walk at night. I missed Vancouver. But there came a time when my moping was holding me back, when I needed to don rose-coloured glasses and make my own fun, seek out creative spaces and people, open myself up to new experiences. Since then, I really put down roots in the sandy soil of Mackay, among the lemon-scented gums and casuarinas.
Uprooting in our recent move south hurt but as a good friend of mine reminded me last week as I sat on the floor of our empty house waiting for the moving company, my Mackay connections will always be there. It’s only an hour flight or day-long drive away. This comforts me.
Although I feel that Chris and I will thrive in Brisbane, I would not trade my time in Mackay for anything. Oh, and I’ll be back in Mackay next week and for a bit in November.
See you then, Mackay. Thanks heaps for taking in this Canadian girl.
fedOZsenko 