When intrepid medical couple Ulrich and Sabine Orda arrived in Mount Isa with four young kids in the mid-2000s, they did not expect that a 12-month contract would turn into a 17-year love affair with the Queensland outback and its people.
It was a stark contrast to their hometown of Krefeld, a picturesque German city by the Rhine River famous for its silks and velvets.
"Moving four kids from Germany where you have everything you need … it's a little bit of a big step," Ms Orda said.
The beauty of the outback was exactly what the Ordas were yearning for when they spotted an advertisement in an international medical journal and moved 15,000 kilometres across the world.
"We were 43 when we had to make the decision — 'Do we want to do what we're doing at the moment for the rest of our lives, or do we want to have some new experiences and some changes?'" Ms Orda said.
"We saw a warm welcome in the community and a hospital with lots of opportunities."
Dr Orda, a GP and rural generalist, is the director of emergency and clinical teaching at Mount Isa Hospital and Ms Orda is its principal medical education officer at the hospital.
They have firmly cemented their place in rural healthcare, but this no-nonsense couple remains matter-of-fact about what has kept them here all these years.
"I don't think you'd find a place that people would do the things for you that Mount Isa did for us," Dr Orda said.
"We wouldn't have been able to establish what we've done in Mount Isa if it wasn't for that support."
The community rallied around the Ordas when tragedy struck four years ago.
Their veterinarian son, Lukas Orda, was among 41 crew members on board the Panamanian ship Gulf Livestock 1 that disappeared off the coast o...
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