She's only pint sized, but Grace Nichols is full of energy.
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Grace is a mother of 11 children, a grandmother of 60 and a great grandmother of five or six - though she can't quite remember the exact number.
Still buzzing, Grace is only held back by painful rheumatoid arthritis in her hands and feet that make walking a trial.
Grace came to Mount Isa aged 17, with her parents who bred and raced racehorses.
She has lived here ever since.
She started work in Mount Isa as a housemaid at the famous Boydies Hotel, then worked across the road in West St at the Clicks Café.
Her marriage at 21 to a jockey was not a happy one - she was a victim of repeated domestic violence.
"He used to beat me every night," Grace said.
It wasn't until she could access the pension for single mothers she was able to take her 10 children and leave him.
Grace had 11 children in 11 years, with two sets of twins.
The 11th child was from a much happier relationship.
Life was a struggle, even with the help of the pension.
Grace used to walk to the shops with all 11 children and would take two taxis home with the groceries.
"We walked everywhere - to the pool and the park - and sometimes the neighbours' kids would see us setting off and they'd join in, so I'd have up to 14 kids following along behind me," she said.
"They used to call me 'Mrs Rabbit'.
"The kids in the neighbourhood would say, 'Mum, I'm just going to play at Mrs Rabbit's house'.
"I love kids," she says with a smile.
Mount Isa more than 50 years ago was a different place to now, with only the Isa Street bridge crossing the Leichhardt River, so in flood, the town was split in two.
Grace had all 11 children at Mount Isa Hospital.
"The maternity ward was nothing flash; not like it is now," she said.
With her severe arthritis and an auto-immune deficiency Grace has seen a lot of the Hospital but says she "has nothing to whinge about it".
A frequent patient at the Cancer Care Unit for her treatment for her "bad blood", she has been invited to the staff parties, and their famous "Biggest Morning Tea".
The Telehealth team invite her to their Melbourne Cup Day celebrations every year, so for her Mount Isa Hospital has become Party Central.
As her arthritis now makes it difficult to walk anywhere, Grace is hoping to access a mobility scooter to make getting around her home town easier.
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