The Bernese boy who became mayor in a copper town
By Anne Held/August 2004


Cobar, it could well be the name of the newest ‘in’ bar in Sydney; or could it be a confectionery, like a snack bar, maybe something with coconut and chocolate? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Cobar is a copper town more or less in the geographical centre of NSW, a shire of 44,065 km2, which makes it about the same as Tasmania. And also bigger than the whole country of Switzerland!

You, the astute reader, can already guess that there must be a Swiss connection with Cobar, to be mentioned in this publication. You are right. Since April 2004, Cobar has a Swiss mayor, a ‘Bärner Gieu” (Bernese) no less!

The town with its current population of about 5’500 is surrounded by red flat earth, the wide open outback. You drive more than 3 hours in a straight line from Dubbo to get there. The main industries are pastoral, and the fluctuating fortunes of its copper, gold, zinc and lead mines have left their impact on the town and its population. With the discovery of copper, Cobar Mines, the largest copper mine in Australia, started in 1870, followed by a couple of other mines. Around 1900, the population was at least twice the size of today and Cobar was booming. After WWI, the demand for copper dropped, many mines were forced to close, and the population in and around Cobar swindled due to loss of their work. A revival started in the ‘30s when new gold mines opened, one of them still operating today.

Let’s get back to the new mayor and his interesting story. Werner Muhlethaler was born in 1939 in Herzogenbuchsee, canton of Berne, Switzerland. Even as a kid, he already had this urge to see the world. After an apprenticeship as fitter and turner, he completed his compulsory army service like every able-bodied 20 year old Swiss male, and then went to Lausanne to learn French. That year, 1959, at the famous national fair Comptoir in Lausanne, Australia was the invited guest nation, with a strong emphasis of attracting new skilled immigrants to the ‘Lucky Country’. The offer sounded too good to refuse for young Werner.

With a mate of his, he arrived in Australia in 1961, single, eager and ready for a new life. With his tradesman skills, he had not problems to get a job working on the new Burrendong Dam and Power Station on the 950km long Macquarie River, near Dubbo.

After 2 years, he travelled around Australia and worked in different jobs here and overseas, just to get more experience. By 1967, he returned to Cobar to take up employment with CSA Mines (Cornish, Scottish and Australian Mines). This copper mine had also started at the end of last century and had to be closed down in 1920 when a fire broke out and burned for 16 years. The mine was re-opened in 1965 and is fully operational today.

A couple of years later, Werner became director of Cobar Holdings Pty Ltd which established Cobar Engineering, a specialist in air evaporation and cooling systems, widely used in the whole area with its very dry climate.

In 1970, Werner married local girl Judy and became an Australian citizen. One daughter and one son followed. Judy comes from a farmer family which owns vast territories around Cobar, and she remembers how her parents used to go into Cobar with a horse and buggy once a week.

With Cobar Engineering now his main activity, and just for the fun of it, Werner and Judy also started to manage one of the few motels in town for many years.

During all this time, Wernerhad always been a very active member and supporter of the local community: he held various positions in the Rotary Club, Masonic Lodge, Junior Soccer Club, Aero Club and Cobar Weekly Inc. He also joined the Australian Institute of Refrigeration Airconditioning and Heating, and has been a member of the Swiss Australian Chamber of Commerce (SACCI) for some 15 years.

One of Werner’s hobby’s today is being the Manager, Secretary and
Treasurer of Cobar Community Radio and Tourist Radio, appropriately named 2HOT-FM. Every Sunday afternoon is spent in the small radio station he built himself, broadcasting local news and music, including his beloved ‘Ländlermuusig’, Swiss folklore music, because “….. I want to give the locals some culture and the taste of other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, like Switzerland, my home country…”

In April 2004, Werner stood for election to become a member of the Council of Cobar Shire, and received the second highest number of votes. During the first Council meeting, within the first 20 minutes, he was elected Mayor, a position he may now hold for the next 4 years, with the next elections due in September 2005 and every 12 months thereafter until 2008.

What does a mayor of a copper town in the outback actually do?

Being not only a skilled tradesman but also a good businessman, Werner helped introduce the Cobar Quid a few years ago. The Cobar Quid is a gold coloured coin with value, issued by the Cobar Business Association, to encourage people to buy locally, instead of spending their money in the bigger cities like Dubbo or Sydney. You can buy a Cobar Quid, and very often, it is actually given as a present or reward. The happy person who receives the quid can then only spend it in one of the participating local businesses. The motto is: Buy local, keep Cobar prosperous, give a Cobar Quid or two!

The first really major event for the new Cobar mayor will happen in late September. Cobar will grant ‘Freedom of Entry’ to the captain and crew of HMAS Rankin, a Cabin Class submarine. Yes, a submarine connection in the outback! The submarine HMAS Rankin is named after Ltd Commander Robert ‘Oscar’ Rankin, a native Cobarian and local hero. Ltd Commander Rankin was killed during WWII during a sea battle, when he tried to protect a convoy of 3 ships from attacking Japanese cruisers and destroyers.

“Freedom of Entry” is a special ceremony involving a lot of protocol and goes back to the 11th century, when marching armies depended on walled cities for food, rest and shelter. Today, it is a ceremonial honour conferred in recognition of achievements while on active service or overseas duty, or mark of respect and gratitude for efforts in defence of Australia. It is restricted to Australian military and civilian units which have a significant attachment to the city. With top ranking VIP’s from all over the country, the HMAS Rankin crew will be treated to street parades, school visits, tours of the mines and official dinners with the locals. And in the middle of all these festivities of a once-in-a life time event, will be the proud Swiss mayor.

September will be a busy month anyway for Cobar’s population. The world premiere of a Japanese movie ‘Bondi Tsunami” will be held there, with Japanese TV crews as well as Channel 7 to cover the event. And the overnight stay of the Australian International 4WD Safari will also be filmed to be shown in over 150 countries around the world.

On a more serious note, Werner recently met with his colleague from the neighbouring shire, man to man on a bridge to nowhere, in the afternoon. They will try to resolve a 3 year old bogged down situation: The neighbours built a modern concrete bridge over a river, with a lovely paved access road, but continuing as a dirt track on the Cobar side, due to money problems and lack of communication.

With all these adventures, past as well as future, what kind of ties does Werner still have with his native Switzerland? In a broad Bernese dialect, Werner replies: “My mother, now in her early nineties, still lives in Bettenhausen, near Herzogenbuchsee, and my only sister is nearby. I call them every couple of weeks and try to visit once a year. I am also proud to still speak ‘Berndeutsch’ the way I spoke when growing up in Switzerland. I used to subscribe to the Tagesanzeiger and with my involvement with the local radio, was able to listen regularly to Swiss Radio International. Today, a quick look every day through the Swiss newspapers on the internet keeps me up to date with the happenings over there.”

Werner believes strongly that Cobar, despite it’s small disadvantages, is one of the best places to live in, and he constantly devotes his time to make life even better, to make Cobar an even better place to live in now and in the future. Not belonging to any political party, he has the best of Cobar at heart and gets totally involved in his new activity, so much involved even that his First Lady Judy left the conjugal bedroom, not getting much sleep due to Werner thinking about work during his sleep, muttering all night long…..

In the dark huge night, stopping on top of a hill on the land of a closed copper mine, the sky is enormous, vaster than you have ever seen it. You didn’t know that so many stars hang up there. And the silence is nearly frightening, only interrupted by the rustle of a running rabbit or kangaroo. The lights of Cobar City look welcoming. You know there are people there, pubs and motels, shops, businesses and schools; and caring for all of them, watching over them, is their mayor, Werner Muhlethaler. Will he stay in Cobar forever? “Till somebody shows me a better place, Cobar is the place for me” closes Werner with a broad grin and a twinkle in his eyes.
 

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