Les Lever has a lot of stories to yarn about. Sit him down in a comfy chair and he would be more than happy to talk about his adventures, a lot of them out at sea.
The local meteorologist hasn’t always worked at the bureau however, although weather does seem to be a big passion of his, and has played a part in his working life for most of his career.
Les first got his taste of Mount Isa in 1986.
“It was my first posting with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. I started working for them when I was first discharged from the Navy,” he said.
Before that he started out working for Rupert Murdoch as a copy boy at The Australian in Brisbane.
As part of his job he had to pick up the mail and when he walked past the defence building one day something clicked in him. That is what he wanted to do.
“Army was on the first floor then air force on the second, but I walked straight to the top and signed up for the navy as a junior recruit,” he said.
He was still only 16 at the time.
Les said moving to Western Australia was a fantastic time in his life.
“You did everything as you would in the classroom but got an introduction into the navy as well,” he said.
It was in the navy that he learnt to become a meteorologist.
Les said in the beginning he wanted to be a gunner but his teacher pushed him into further study.
“I did pretty well with my schooling there and our teacher at the time was a meteorological officer himself so he told me to continue in that path,” he said. “At that time I didn’t even know how to spell meteorology.”
There he continued his training as a weather observer and followed the seas of wherever he was posted, which was to many places in his years in the navy.
Les travelled to Hawaii, Singapore, Malaysia, Israel and many other places, observing the weather and collecting data.
He said Israel was a country that opened his eyes.
“It was definitely an experience. It was a very hostile place,” he said.
One of the ships he worked on while travelling was HMAS Melbourne, which was scrapped after the aircraft kept falling off or missed the landing.
“Once we lost three (aircraft) in one day. It (HMAS Melbourne) was the smallest carrier in the world, you try landing a jet on a postage stamp in the middle of the sea, it’s a tough job.”
The job of a naval officer has changed a lot over the years and Les witnessed it first hand.
“Ships started to stay longer at sea … it takes a special person to do that job permanently, I eventually got sick of the lifestyle,” he said.
He was eventually posted to Cairns where he worked on the land base, which was where he met his wife Necia.
After they had children Les decided he wanted a change.
The Navy always worked closely with the bureau and when Les decided he wanted a discharge from the Navy, he picked up a job with them straight away.
With this he went straight to Mount Isa to work at the weather station.
Not one to sit back, Les has been heavily involved in the Mount Isa community, although he said he had seen a change since he arrived all those years ago.
“When the mine shifts were shorter people were more involved in the community,” he said.
“There was about 600 people who played indoor cricket when I first got here … now it seems people don’t have enough time to be as involved in the community.”
Les was also given the opportunity to travel with the bureau.
Always up for an adventure, when he was offered an opportunity to travel to Antarctica in 1988 he jumped at it.
His journey to one of the most deserted continents in the world was part of a research exhibition.
He trained in Hobart before heading off on the 12-month journey.
“We had to go through everything from crevasse training to specialised training like firefighting,” he said.
Les said living in Antarctica was an experience like no other.
By the end of his stint he was ready to come back but Les said he wouldn’t have swapped the opportunity for anything.
Les’ job has also taken him to Willis Island and his next posting he said would be just as adventurous: Lord Howe Island.
The couple will be moving there at the start of next year to begin their next adventure together.
“We’re ready for a bit of a sea change,” he said.
“I’ve been here for a while and I like to jump on opportunities like this when they arise, we all need to.”
He admitted that he did not know where he would finally end up.
“I feel more at home in Mount Isa than anywhere else but you never know what the next day will bring for you.
“The thing I’m mostly going to miss most out here though is the people, they really make this place.”
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