Community
18 June, 2025
Show will go on without us, say keen volunteers
Tonka and Ranita Toholke believe that others will step up in their absence.
There will be big shoes to fill in Mount Isa when the city loses two of its most active volunteers next month.
Tonka and Ranita Toholke will next month trade our mining city for the western shores of Perth.
Packed-up boxes are already starting to pile up in a back room of their family home as they make the important decisions about what items to place in the first moving truck.
Tonka, who has taken a new position within Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, says it wasn’t an easy decision to depart Mount Isa but he planned to maintain connection with the North West.
Their daughter Kira has recently qualified as a paramedic and has taken her first posting in Mount Isa.
Tonka explained that Ranita had family in Perth and the pair had always talked about trying their luck in the western state.
“Perth will be the first time I have lived in a big city,” Tonka laughs.
“So fortunately, my new work is only about a 15-minute drive away.”
Tonka and Ranita arrived in Mount Isa in 2007 with the familiar two-year plan as they took over the management of the Overlander Hotel.
However, almost two decades later, it is their involvement in numerous community organisations that the couple has become most synonymous with, which began when they joined the beleaguered Mount Isa Show Society committee in 2010.
The show was facing financial ruin at the time, struggling to pay off more than $250,000 debt.
Ranita said a new committee was formed to tackle the issues, which included herself and Tonka, and the group worked for more than five years to set up annual shows while also finding numerous ways to reduce the outstanding debt.
She said the Mount Isa Show was now in a better financial position moving forward but there was still a need for strong community support at the event, which kicks off on Friday.
“The show is a real celebration of Mount Isa,” Ranita said.
“It is entirely run by volunteers who do it all for the local community and it would be great to see people come along and show their support.”
Tonka has also resigned from his position on the new Mount Isa Rodeo Committee ahead of his city departure. He said he believed the 2025 rodeo was in capable hands as the city counts down the days until the first bucking bronc enters Buchanan Park in August.
Tonka said there were countless opportunities for locals to play an active part in community life in Mount Isa.
He said the International Men’s Day organising committee had no one about a month ago as he began to make plans to exit the city.
But following a quick shout out for volunteers, all positions on the board have now been filled.
Tonka said this single example proved there was still a strong sense of community spirit despite the uncertain times Mount Isa currently finds itself.
“People should get active in these community organisations because they might just enjoy it,” he said.
“You might also be helping someone else out without even really knowing it.
“You will always get more out of it personally than you can ever put in.”