Birdsville was once notorious as being one of Australia's roughest and most hazardous destinations. Sitting on the intersection of the Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australian borders, it really is in the middle of no-where. Its history goes back as far as 1845, when surveyor Charles Sturt was searching for an inland sea. The town then became a customs point for stock and supplies entering South Australia before pastoral occupation and development began in the 1870's leading to a 90 year droving era.
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| After travelling 2450km's from Cairns, we were very much looking forward to arriving at our final destination. |
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| Originally Birdsville had been in South Australia but when they drew the new boundaries at the end of the 18th Century, they found that the town had shifted and so it ended up in Queensland. |
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| When we arrived in Birdsville, we had a very warm welcome from the locals. |
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| As the town's population swells from 120 to approximately 6000, the caravan park can't cater for everyone so the majority of visitors set up camp on the banks of the Diamantina River - which resembles a 4WD convention. |
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| Despite being on the edge of the Simpson Desert, Birdsville sits over the Great Artesian Basin, which is 2032kms wide and 1450km's long, making it one of the largest underground water supplies on earth. With a surface temperature of 98 degrees celsius, the water has to be cooled before being supplied for drinking and household use. |
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| As we were setting up camp, along came the Variety Bash - were they following us?! |
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| The only lifesaving likely to be done in Birdsville would be saving people from drinking too much beer over the race weekend. |
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| Any Dumb 'n' Dumber fans will appreciate this. |
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| Our first stop - the legendary Birdsville Pub. Where everyone either BYO's their own stubby holder or purchases a souvenir from behind the bar. |
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| We met loads of great characters both locals and people that had travelled from miles around. |
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| Ah, G'day mate, I'm a true blue Aussie. |
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| Boxing was one of the main attractions outside the racing calendar. Taking place directly opposite the pub, Fred Brophy's touring boxing troupe is one of the last in the World, certainly in Australia. |
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| The Troupe entertains Aussies all around the country apart from NSW and VIC, where state bureaucracy prevents it (why is that not surprising). There is no grand stand or boxing ring. Just a matt surrounded by chairs, that house around 650 excitable onlookers. |
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| To drum up support, the man himself, Fred Brophy, draws everyone together with the repetitious beat of his drum and some entertaining banter. |
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| One by one Fred introduces his boys and girl. The female boxer in this photo was actually beaten on this particular night by a local girl from Winton, which is about 600km north of Birdsville. |
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| Then you watch as a victim volunteers himself for the next fight. And what a motley crew the challengers can be!! |
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| This is The Cowboy, Fred's number one boxer and apparently a champion Rodeo Rider. We had been talking to him in the pub earlier on in the afternoon and he had asked whether Lindsay fancied a go - "Don't all POMS like to fight?" he asked. Anyone who knows Linds well, will appreciate how funny this was! |
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| Friday, Day One of The Racing Carnival. At 10am, the pub was doing a roaring trade, as people watered themselves for the day ahead. |
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| An old tin shed, racetrack and sandhill backdrop set the scene for the Birdsville Cup. |
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| Not ones for betting, it took us a while to realise that $10 both ways would often leave us short, even if we had backed a winner!! |
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| Prior to arriving in Birdsville, we had a spent a couple of days in Bedourie and down the pub had met a horse trainer with three horses competing in the carnival. This is Rex and Bert preparing Narabeen, their first horse to race. |
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| Pity those jockeys and horses that were bringing up the rear. |
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| Expectations were running high as Cory (the jockey!) took Narabeen to the starting gates. |
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| Another champagne anyone?? Narabeen won with a few lengths between him and the second horse. |
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| Rex - one very happy bunny. |
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| Winning is all about team work . |
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| For those of you that know me - this was far too close for my liking but apparently when you are photographed with a winning horse, you should rest their head on your shoulder. Thank god I had had a few drinks!! |
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| After the races we headed back to camp to rejuvenate before hitting the town for a night out on the dust!! |
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| Saturday - Day 2 of the races. From about 6am we could hear the murmur of light air crafts over head, as they made their descent into Birdsville. During the peak of the festivities, over 200 planes were parked on the runway, with many owners pitching tents beneath their wings - a stones throw from the pub. |
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| Day 2 brought hotter conditions but still no flies!! |
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| Top class racehorses travel as far afield as the capital cities to contest the Birdsville Cup. |
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| Both Rex and Cory were confident that Dance for All had it in her to clinch the cup. We were convinced, all our money was riding on her. |
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| The Birdsville Cup. Cory, on Dance For All, is in pale blue, with a black hat - they came in sixth!!! Last year's winner clinched it again! |
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| With the main event over everyone headed back to the pub, with the beer garden hosting the Country Dance Night. So we, along with everyone else threw ourselves around the dusty dance floor to some good old Aussie and country classics. |
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| Sunday. The morning after. Following a mass exodus, the town begins to feel empty - so does the pub. |
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| Linds contemplates our losses and the realisation that we really do need to get jobs now. |
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| So we start on our 1700km journey back towards Brisbane, taking with us the knowledge that next time we meet a horse trainer, don't believe every word he says!! |
| Click here to see the rest of our travels through Queensland's Outback |
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