Townsville

I was born (yes, contrary to what you many have heard, I did not hatch) in Townsville.  I grew up there.  I have now spent more time down this way, but the first 23 years of my life I lived in Townsville.
If you see a picture of Townsville, and it is green, you know it has just rained.  Townsville is dry.  Go 40 kilometres north or south and it is wet, but Townsville is dry.  To swim in wild rivers we would go north or south.    One place we swam at was called Rolling Stone, but I would not swim there now.  On my last visit, there were signs up warning about the crocodiles.  Fair dinkum, the places we swam were idyllic, and are the stuff of advertising brochures these days.  We knew no different.  It was what was there.
For the visitor Townsville does not seem to have a lot going for it.  I have always found though, that liking a place where I lived, depended on the friends I had and made.  I really liked Townsville.
The house I grew up in was on Castle Hill, the local landmark.  That place stood the test of time though the place next door was destroyed in a cyclone.  The guy in the house knew it was time to leave when he moved a cupboard for some reason and the wall started heading towards him.  It was all very dramatic.  A number of us were under a table.  For some reason dad was on the phone and had just been told by the person he was talking to, they had lost their roof. At that moment the house next door lost theirs and the power was cut.  I will never forget dad declaring at that moment we had lost ours also.
It turned out we had not lost ours, but the house next door had lost theirs.  Fortunately, their roof flew over our place and landed in the vacant allotment next door.   The only damage we sustained was from the place next door though the power was out for a number of days.
When we had about five inches of rain (about 125 mil these days) we had a creek next to our place that would flow. Many a great time was had there.  If I said “I’m going to the pool” it was immediately understood I was headed to the deepest part of that creek.  In my youth I thought there was treasure in one of the rocks that formed a side of the pool.  However a crowbar made no impression on it whatsoever.
Certainly bigger cities enjoy convenience, but for sheer beauty and making my own fun, nothing to me beats smaller places.