Cirrus@Austlit

'On the plane, taciturn miners spread out in jeans and high-vis vests. Large, grim men flying in to work underground, a dull uniformity in their baseball caps, workboots and doubtful manners. But as the plane banks across red earth and scrub and the tall chimneys of Mount Isa come into view, there is an apparition among these working men. With a stiff white quiff, flaming red lips, jangling chunky jewellery, a long dress of rainbow colours and pale skin swathed in silk scarves, Katie Noonan would be a flamboyant presence anywhere. ' (Introduction)