Luke: I moved up from Melbourne at the same time. I applied with Century Mine as a Mechanical Engineer and worked there for twelve months. I saw lots of opportunities within [Doomadgee] .... and they offered me a job and I subsequently accepted it and here we are.

Kate: We had decided that at the end of [our] four year stint in Melbourne .... that we would go remote and I have always wanted to work in an indigenous community ever since primary school. I think it does go back to ... doing indigenous studies in primary school ... and being quite fascinated with that. [It is] something that is really fundamental to Australian development as a whole, as a country, that we need to address.

Luke: [I like] the work opportunities and outside of work, a lifestyle that I grew up with. A lot of camping, a lot of fishing, a lot of outdoor activities and it is a beautiful part of the world that a lot of people don't get to see and we made the most of that opportunity. I would also say that it would be a good experience for anyone who's looking for something a little bit alternative and who wants a good rewarding job where they work hard and they see the fruits of their work.

Kate: You do need to be prepared and do research because you are in a harsh physical environment so you have to be prepared for that. You have to make sure that your own support network is aware of what you have to face on a day-to-day basis professionally, personally and also all the bits in between. I would encourage people to actually have family members come up and see where they are ... particularly if you are a city person. I would [recommend it to others]. We won't realise just how much it has impacted us I think, and this is what friends have actually told us as well .... that you won't realise how important it is until you move onto something else.

--Luke & Kate Steele (Doomadgee Shire Council)

It is essential to come into Doomadgee with a positive, open mind. It's certainly not like newspapers portray. It's a wonderful place, with wonderful people here. The community itself is great, it's going ahead in leaps and bounds. The school is fantastic, we getting so many resources over the next 12 months. A new library, a new technology center, we just got new playgrounds.

It's a place to come and enjoy, not a place to come and be miserable that's for sure. If you come with a negative attitude you will be miserable: you're better off not coming. Come with a positive attitude and you will enjoy every moment of your being here, especially with what you can do in your spare time".

--Richard Barrie (School Teacher)

Before I came out here [it was] a place I never even thought of coming to. What you have to look at is that the lifestyle out here is absolutely amazing and a lot of ... the bad stories are ... based on outdated stories. Even in the six years I have been here, this community has changed an awful lot ... it's coming along in leaps and bounds. The stigma of being in an aboriginal community or in a place like a Gulf, I think is seriously based on old knowledge .... it's no way like that any more.

Definitely give it a go, definitely come out and see what the place is like. Come with an open mind - don't think of it as a trial you have to get through, look at it as an experience that you are going to get something from. Be ready to learn".

--Michael Browne (Teacher)