as one of the best contaminate-free cattle fattening areas in Australia and now becoming well known for its "Organic Bee
Birdsville Station
McDonald Street, Birdsville Qld 4482 Contact: PoliceLink 131444 www.police.qld.gov.au
Birdsville is one of the most isolated towns in Queensland, located 12km from the South Australian border and 170km from the Northern Territory border, it originated around a store built in 1882 to cater for drovers using the stock route. Until Federation in 1901 it was a customs town for interstate trade. Now facilities include a hotel/motel, caravan park, general store, bakery and post office agency. Birdsville is famous for its Birdsville Race Meeting held in September each year and attracting people from all over the country. Birdsville is a great place to live and be a police officer. The family of the officer is extremely busy throughout the winter months with approximately 45,000 visitors visiting Birdsville each year between April and October. Plus the annual pilgrimage of 6,000 revellers for the annual racing carnival in early September means the officer is kept extremely busy throughout these months. Locality Profile: Birdsville is situated 1600 kilometres west of Brisbane, 700 kilometres south of Mount Isa and 1200 kilometres north of Adelaide. Birdsville is situated between the Simpson Desert and Sturt's Stoney Desert in the far south west of Queensland. It lies in the heart of the Channel Country, a network of western Queensland river systems noted as one of the best contaminate-free cattle fattening areas in Australia and now becoming well known for its "Organic Beef". Birdsville lays within the Diamantina Shire, which is 95,000 square kilometres in size. Population in the Diamantina Shire is approximately 390 with 129 persons living in Birdsville.
Sitting at the edge of the Simpson Desert, Birdsville's climate is arid and the temperatures vary from brisk cold weather at night during winter to hot and dry during summer. During the tourist season, which is from April to October, the days can be pleasant with temperatures in the mid 20 C. At the height of summer it often reaches well upward of 40 C. The winds are usually westerly, blow in from the desert. Birdsville can be subject to flooding caused by rain in northern Queensland filling the river systems that in turn spread to the many channels to create an inland sea. Staff Allocation: 1 officer station. Education: One teacher school up to grade 7, currently 15 children attend the school. School has swimming pool and recently acquired computer equipment. There is a pre-school regime in operation at school. There is also a council funded play group held three times per week. General Information: As far as infrastructure and amenities go, Birdsville has an excellent Medical Clinic staffed by 2 nurses. Clinics are conducted by the Royal Flying Doctor Service on a fortnightly basis. Various specialists hold clinics on a regular basis. Catholic ministers from Longreach, Quilpie and Toowoomba as well as the Uniting Church patrol padre hold services and counselling on a semi regular basis. One general store with a wide variety of goods. Considering Birdsvilles location, prices are fair. Goods can be ordered through the store or from major retailers to the east or south and freighted in on a fortnightly basis. Freight costs are reasonable. Excellent meals can be purchased at the Birdsville Hotel which also has a motel complex attached to it. Rooms are reasonably priced and comfortable. The Blue Poles Gallery, Birdsville Caravan Park and Birdsville Bakery have Cafes with assorted coffees, teas and refreshments available. Most businesses have EFTPOS facilities with Commonwealth Bank services available through the post office. Their is a Sporting complex which includes tennis courts and a play-group facility. Macair Airlines fly Brisbane to Mount Isa via Birdsville each Monday and Thursday and return each Tuesday and Friday, Prices are reasonable if booked in advance. Augusta Airways travel from Port Augusta S.A. to Boulia via Birdsville and return every weekend. The community of Birdsville gives great support to its police officer but demands a high community involvement in return. Birdsville is a very law abiding community that lives in harmony and crime is virtually nil. The Police Officer is mainly kept busy assisting visitors with advice on outback driving, road conditions and crossing the Simpson Desert. Also attending to numerous desert rescues and attending traffic incidents, usually roll overs on the gravel roads. On many occasions these duties call on the Police Officer to cross state borders to assist interstate Police as the nearest interstate Police Stations are Marree (SA)(530 kms) and Kulgera (NT) (750 kms) The Police Officer is a 'Special Constable' for SA & NT. Police have an excellent working relationship with interstate Police and neighbouring Police Stations in Queensland.
Birdsville is a great place to live and be a police officer. The family of the officer is extremely busy throughout the winter months with approximately 45,000 visitors visiting Birdsville each year between April and October. plus the annual pilgrimage of 6,000 revellers for the annual racing carnival in early September means the officer is kept extremely busy throughout these months. Having personal knowledge of the quality of the members of the community, this support is quite a pleasure to give. Birdsville is arguably the most pro police and cooperative community within the state of Queensland. It is an ideal place for a married couple with or without young children to be stationed. In an emergency, dial Triple Zero (000).
