52-607: Birdsville is a town in Australia. Birdsville or Birdville may also refer to: Birdsville Download coordinates as: Birdsville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Diamantina , Queensland , Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with both the Northern Territory and South Australia . The town is situated 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of
104-478: A consignment of goods as going to Birdsville and that name stuck. Another is that a man named Burt established a store and called it Burtsville which corrupted to Birdsville . Whatever its origin, by 1882, the name Birdsville was in common use. The name was adopted in the 1885 survey and was formalised at the proclamation of town in 1887. In 1881, Hector and Norman Wilson, sold The Bluff (Salmonville) property for £19,000. Outside of their pastoral business,
156-595: A minimum. Birdsville has the following mountains: Birdsville is located on land in the Channel Country of Central West Queensland , Australia. Before Birdsville was established by British settlers, the whole region was inhabited by indigenous Australians, speakers of the Wangkangurru language (also known as Arabana/Wangkangurru, Wangganguru, Wanggangurru or Wongkangurru), whose home range stretched from Birdsville south towards Innamincka and Lake Eyre , including
208-899: A population of over 300. It had three hotels, a cordial factory, blacksmith store, market gardens, police and customs facilities but after Federation in 1901, the tolls were abolished and the town fell into decline to about 50 people throughout the 1950s. Livestock trade kept the region alive and since then tourism has joined cattle as the major industry in the area. Tom Kruse operated the Birdsville Track mail run from 1936 to 1957, driving his Leyland Badger truck. He delivered mail and other supplies including general stores, fuel and medicine to remote stations from Marree in north-west South Australia to Birdsville, some 325 miles (523 kilometres) away. Each trip would take two weeks and Kruse regularly had to manage break-downs, flooding creeks and rivers, and getting bogged in desert dunes. In 2007, there
260-724: A result of monsoonal rain. The high rainfall in summer 2010 sent flood water into the Diamantina , Georgina and Cooper Creek catchments of the Lake Eyre basin, with the Cooper Creek reaching the lake for the first time since 1990. The higher rainfall prompted many different birds to migrate back to the area for breeding. Heavy local rain in early March 2011 in the Stuart Creek and Warriner catchments filled Lake Eyre South, with Lake Eyre North about 75 per cent covered with water firstly from
312-586: A rough depot in the late 1870s at the site of the present town of Birdsville, then known as the Diamantina Crossing, on the stock route from Boulia south to Adelaide . By mid-1885, when the township of Birdsville was officially surveyed, a number of buildings had been erected at the Diamantina Crossing, including a police lock-up (1883), Groth's Royal Hotel ( c. 1883 ), William Blair's Birdsville Hotel ( c. 1883 ), Curtain's Tattersalls Hotel, and at least 3 stores and 1 shop. When it
364-518: Is 1,590 kilometres (990 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane , 836 kilometres (519 mi) from Charleville and 720 kilometres (450 mi) south of the city of Mount Isa . Birdsville is on the edge of the Simpson Desert , approximately 174 kilometres (108 mi) east of Poeppel Corner . Birdsville is located about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) north-east of the Diamantina River in
416-562: Is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Adelaide Street ( 25°53′54″S 139°21′10″E / 25.8984°S 139.3527°E / -25.8984; 139.3527 ( Birdsville State School ) ). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 7 students with 2 teachers and 1 non-teaching staff. There is no secondary school in Birdsville or nearby. Distance education and boarding school are options. Birdsville has an 80 kW geothermal power station,
468-558: Is a quarter of its maximum recorded depth of 6 m (20 ft). 9 km (2 cu mi) of water crossed the Queensland–South Australian border with most of it coming from massive floods in the Georgina River . However, owing to the very low rainfall in the lower reaches of these rivers (contrasting with heavy rainfall in the upper catchments), the greater proportion soaked into the desert or evaporated en route to
520-487: Is at 29 Burt Street and is operated by the Diamantina Shire Council . The town is situated near a billabong . A pontoon was built at Burt Street on the north bank of the billabong ( 25°54′10″S 139°21′12″E / 25.9029°S 139.3532°E / -25.9029; 139.3532 ( Birdsville, Birdsville Billabong pontoon ) ) to facilitate swimming and non-powered boating activities. It
572-552: Is divided into two sections which are joined by the Goyder Channel. These are known as Lake Eyre North, which is 144 kilometres (89 mi) in length and 65 kilometres (40 mi) wide, and Lake Eyre South, which measures 65 by 24 kilometres (40 by 15 mi). The salt crusts are thickest—up to 50 cm (20 in)—in the southern Belt Bay, Jackboot Bay and Madigan Gulf sub-basins of Lake Eyre North. Since 1883, proposals have been made to flood Lake Eyre with seawater brought to
SECTION 10
#1732851811105624-429: Is essential that the river run its course and should not be harvested during floods, as any interference in the natural systems could damage the ecosystem . The Lake Eyre Yacht Club is a dedicated group of sailors who sail on the lake's floods, including recent trips in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2009. A number of 6 m (20 ft) trailer sailers sailed on Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre in 1975, 1976, and 1984, when
676-514: Is held at Birdsville during the winter tourist season. It was last held in 2018. Birdsville has a hot desert climate ( BWh in the Köppen climate classification ) with an average of only 22 days of rain a year. Summers are extremely hot and dry, with winters being mild to warm. The median annual rainfall at Birdsville is 133 mm (5.2 in) The actual amount of rain which falls is highly variable, for example, in 1914 just 14 mm (0.55 in)
728-643: Is held by the Arabana people . Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre is in the deserts of central Australia , in northern South Australia. The Lake Eyre Basin is a large endorheic system surrounding the lakebed, the lowest part of which is filled with the characteristic salt pan caused by the seasonal expansion and subsequent evaporation of the trapped waters. Even in the dry season , there is usually some water remaining in Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, normally collecting in over 200 smaller sub-lakes within its margins. The lake
780-440: Is likely that accumulation of salt deposits would rapidly block the engineered channel. At a rate of 1 cm (0.39 in) evaporation per day, a 3 m (9.8 ft) viaduct flowing a 0.5 m/s (1.6 ft/s) would supply enough water to create a 100 km (39 sq mi) sea. If brine water were not sent back to the ocean, it would precipitate 90,000 long tons (91,000 t) of salt every year. The salinity in
832-601: Is managed by the Diamantina Shire Council. In 2012, the billabong became home to a stray freshwater crocodile , which was subsequently removed and relocated by park ranger Don Rowlands. The annual Birdsville Races are held in September in aid of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The town's tiny population is augmented by between 7000 and 9000 people for the two-day event, and hundreds of aircraft fill
884-717: The Bonneville Salt Flats , especially those by Donald Campbell with the Bluebird-Proteus CN7 . Phytoplankton in the lake includes Nodularia spumigena and a number of species of Dunaliella . Birds such as pelicans and banded stilts are drawn to a filled lake from southern coastal regions of Australia, and from as far afield as Papua New Guinea. During the 1989–1990 flood, it was estimated that 200,000 pelicans, 80% of Australia's total population, came to feed and roost at Lake Eyre. Scientists are presently unable to determine how such birds appear able to detect
936-509: The Channel Country in the Lake Eyre drainage basin . Thundahpurty Waterhole is on the river in the east of the locality ( 25°39′00″S 140°14′00″E / 25.65°S 140.2333°E / -25.65; 140.2333 ( Thundahpurty Waterhole ) ). The Birdsville Track extends 514 kilometres (319 mi) from Marree in South Australia before ending at Birdsville;
988-569: The Native Police , together with troopers and stockmen from The Bluff and other properties, conducted a sweeping patrol for the perpetrators of the murder of a stockman. They came across two camps of Aboriginal people and dispersed them. A pastoralist on the nearby Warburton Creek reported to the Police Commissioner in Adelaide that 67 people were killed in these raids and that survivors from
1040-726: The Neales and Macumba Rivers, and later from the Warburton River . In late 2015, water began flowing into Lake Eyre following heavy rain in the north-east of the state. In late March 2019, floodwaters began arriving as a result of torrential rains in northern Queensland in January. In the past, the water had taken anywhere from three to 10 months to reach the lake, but this time it arrived in two. The first flooding would be closely followed by another surge, following rains produced by Cyclone Trevor . Traditional owners and graziers agree that it
1092-475: The Royal Flying Doctor Service . It also provides ambulance services. Birdsville has the following emergency services: Birdsville Cemetery is on Cemetery Road west of the town ( 25°53′48″S 139°20′27″E / 25.8967°S 139.3408°E / -25.8967; 139.3408 ( Birdsville Cemetery ) ). It is operated by the Diamantina Shire Council. Birdsville Library
SECTION 20
#17328518111051144-479: The neurotoxin 3 nitropropionic acid (3-NPA). The affected horses exhibit weakness and lack of coordination; it can be fatal. It does not appear to affect cattle. Although it is not unique to Birdsville, the condition was first observed in the Birdsville district in May 1886. While there were many theories about the cause of the disease including plants, worms and sunstroke, it was not until 1950 that researchers identified
1196-470: The 80 kW power plant to completely meet Birdsville's electricity requirements was shelved, in favour of increasing the use of solar power and battery storage. Birdsville Primary Health Care Centre is at 31 Adelaide Street ( 25°53′52″S 139°21′19″E / 25.8977°S 139.3554°E / -25.8977; 139.3554 ( health centre ) ). It provides emergency and primary care by nursing staff with doctors' appointments provided by
1248-542: The Queensland- South Australian border, developed as an administrative centre for police and border customs. Birdsville is located at the border of South Australia and Queensland to collect tolls from the droves of cattle being moved interstate. Nearly all the trade of the town was with Adelaide, and it became an important marshalling point for cattle being driven south to markets in South Australia. By 1889
1300-536: The South Australian border. In the 2021 census , the locality of Birdsville had a population of 110 people. It is a popular tourist destination with many people using it as a starting point across the Simpson Desert . Betoota is a ghost town to the east of the town of Birdsville within the bounds of the locality.( 25°41′40″S 140°44′39″E / 25.6944°S 140.7441°E / -25.6944; 140.7441 ( Betoota ) ). Birdsville
1352-431: The basin via a canal or pipeline. The purpose was, in part, to increase evaporation and thereby increase rainfall in the region downwind of an enlarged Lake Eyre. The added rainfall has been modelled as small. Due to the basin's low elevation below sea level and the region's high annual evaporation rate (between 2,500 and 3,500 millimetres (98 and 138 in) ), such schemes have generally been considered impractical, as it
1404-412: The border in South Australia . The Bluff property was also known as Salmonville. Nearby pastoral stations of Annandale , Pandie Pandie , Glengyle and Roseberth were taken up in 1876; and Carcoory in 1877. Conflict in the region during this time included several large massacres of the resident Aboriginal people being perpetrated. For instance in 1879, Sub-Inspectors Henry Kaye and Henry Gough of
1456-674: The brothers resided in Melbourne where they were the driving force behind the establishment of the Melbourne Racing Club , the Coongy Cup and the Caulfield Cup . In the early 1880s the towns of Birdsville and Bedourie were established to service the newly taken up pastoral holdings of the Diamantina. Reputedly, a merchant named Matthew Flynn, who carried stores for the stations, built
1508-517: The east-central part of the Far North region of South Australia , some 700 km (435 mi) north of Adelaide . The shallow lake is the depocentre of the vast endorheic Lake Eyre basin , and contains the lowest natural point in Australia, at approximately 15 m (49 ft) below sea level . On the rare occasions that it fills completely, it is the largest lake in Australia, covering an area of up to 9,500 km (3,668 sq mi). When
1560-713: The filling of the lake, even when hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from the basin. The extent of the lake is covered by two protected areas declared by the Government of South Australia : the Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre National Park and the Elliot Price Conservation Park . Lake Eyre is on the list of wetlands of national importance known as A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia . Lake Eyre has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) known as
1612-410: The flood depth reached 3–6 m (9.8–19.7 ft). In July 2010 The Yacht Club held its first regatta since 1976 and its first on Lake Killamperpunna, a freshwater lake on Cooper Creek. The Cooper had reached Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre for the first time since 1990. It is estimated that these waters reach Lake Eyre roughly 8 years in 100. When the lake is full, a notable phenomenon is that around midday
Birdsville (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-478: The lake but only placed a small amount of water into it. When recently flooded, the lake is almost fresh, and native freshwater fish, including bony bream ( Nematolosa erebi ), the Lake Eyre Basin sub-species of golden perch ( Macquaria ambigua ) and various small hardyhead species ( Craterocephalus spp.) can survive in it. The 2009 Lake Eyre flood peaked at 1.5 m (5 ft) deep in late May, which
1716-401: The lake increases as the 450 mm (18 in) salt crust dissolves over a period of six months of a major flood, resulting in a massive fish kill . When over 4 m (13 ft) deep, the lake is no saltier than the sea , but salinity increases as the water evaporates, with saturation occurring at about a 500 mm (20 in) depth. The lake takes on a pink hue when saturated, due to
1768-470: The lake is full, it has the same salinity as seawater , but becomes hypersaline as the lake dries up and the water evaporates. The lake was named in honour of Edward John Eyre , the first European to see it in 1840. It was officially renamed in December 2012 to include its Aboriginal name, Kati Thanda , in accordance with a policy of dual naming . The native title over the lake and surrounding region
1820-532: The lake will get. The average rainfall in the area of the lake is 100 to 150 millimetres (3.9 to 5.9 in) per year. The −15 m (−49 ft) altitude usually attributed to Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre refers to the deepest parts of the lake floor, in Belt Bay and the Madigan Gulf. The shoreline lies at −9 m (−30 ft). The lake is the area of maximum deposition of sediment in the Lake Eyre Basin. Lake Eyre
1872-408: The lake, leaving less than 4 km (0.96 cu mi) in the lake, which covered an area of 800 km (309 sq mi), or 12% of the total. As the flood did not start filling the lake's deepest point (Belt Bay) until late March, little bird life appeared, preferring instead to nest in the upper reaches of the Lake Eyre Basin, north of Birdsville , where large lakes appeared in January as
1924-475: The local government areas of the Shire of Diamantina as well as the Outback Communities Authority of South Australia . Typically a 1.5 m (5 ft) flood occurs every three years, a 4 m (13 ft) flood every decade, and a fill or near fill a few times a century. The water in the lake soon evaporates, with a minor or medium flood drying by the end of the following summer. Most of
1976-470: The modern local government areas of the Shire of Diamantina as well as the Outback Communities Authority of South Australia . Although British explorers had passed through the Diamantina district in the 1840s and early 1860s, pastoralists did not occupy this semi-arid region until the mid-1870s. Brothers Hector and Norman Wilson formed "The Bluff" property around the present site of Birdsville in 1875 as an outpost of their massive Coongy station across
2028-485: The only one of its type in Australia. Water is extracted from bore drilled in 1961 on the Great Artesian Basin at 97 to 99 °C (207 to 210 °F) and is used to heat the operating fluid isopentane in a Rankine Cycle engine. The geothermal plant produces around one third of the town's electricity. The water (once cooled) is also the source of the town's drinking water. A plan by Ergon Energy to expand
2080-423: The population of Birdsville was 110, and the town had 2 general stores, 3 hotels, a police station, school, 2 blacksmith shops, 2 bakers, a cordial manufacturer, bootmaker, saddler, auctioneer & commission agent, and a number of residences. The population peaked in 1895 at 220. Birdsville State School opened on 14 August 1899. The school closed in 1948 and has subsequently reopened. Circa 1900, Birdsville had
2132-406: The precise cause. Mildly affected horses can recover with a regimen of drenching with gelatine and feeding a diet high in arginine but euthanasia is recommended for severely affected horses. As there is no cure, preventing horses from grazing on indigo is recommended. Lake Eyre Lake Eyre ( / ɛər / AIR ), officially known as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre , is an endorheic lake in
Birdsville (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-632: The presence of beta-carotene pigment caused by the alga Dunaliella salina . Wangkangurru ( also known as Arabana/Wangkangurru, Wangganguru, Wanggangurru, Wongkangurru) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Wangkangurru country. It is closely related to Arabana language of South Australia . The Wangkangurru language region was traditionally in the South Australian-Queensland border region taking in Birdsville and extending south towards Innamincka and Kati Thanda, including
2236-585: The road continues north as the Eyre Developmental Road to Bedourie. The Birdsville Developmental Road travels east from the town towards Windorah . A popular route across the Simpson Desert goes from Birdsville to Mt Dare via the French Line. The Line is an unsealed track built in the early 1960s by French Petroleum for oil exploration purposes. Birdsville Airport is immediately north-west of
2288-475: The surface can often become very flat. The surface then reflects the sky in a way that leaves both the horizon and water surface virtually impossible to see. The commodore of the Lake Eyre Yacht Club has stated that sailing during this time has the appearance of sailing in the sky. Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre has been a site for various land speed record attempts on its salt flats , similar to those found in
2340-459: The town ( 25°53′35″S 139°20′42″E / 25.8931°S 139.3451°E / -25.8931; 139.3451 ( Birdsville Airport ) ). It is operated by the Diamantina Shire Council . Almost all the buildings in the town are of local sandstone, there being no local timber available. Distance and the lack of good access roads or a railway create prohibitively high transportation costs, so imported building materials are kept to
2392-527: The town's 1,700-metre (1,859 yd) airstrip. In 2010, the races were cancelled for the first time in the event's history due to rain. The Big Red Bash is an annual three-day music festival held in July at a site 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of the town of Birdsville. Attendees camp at the site. The Simpson Desert Bike Challenge also traditionally finishes in Birdsville in October every year. The Big Red Run
2444-491: The violence had fled to his property. There are a number of different theories as to the origin of the name Birdsville . One is that the name was suggested by Robert Frew, owner of Pandie Pandie Station , who also had a store and shop at the Diamantina Crossing, in reference to the prolific bird life in the district. The other is that a store was established by Percy Bird and George Field and they called it Birdfield . However, in 1882, G. and R. Wills, of Adelaide, misaddressed
2496-446: The water entering the lakes arrives via Warburton River . In strong La Niña years, the lake can fill. Since 1885, this has occurred in 1886–1887, 1889–1890, 1916–1917, 1950 , 1955, 1974–1977, and 1999–2001, with the highest flood of 6 m (20 ft) in 1974. Local rain can also fill Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre to 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft), as occurred in 1984 and 1989. Torrential rain in January 2007 took about six weeks to reach
2548-543: Was formed by aeolian processes after tectonic upwarping occurred to the south subsequent to the end of the Pleistocene epoch. During the rainy season , rivers from the north-east part of the Lake Eyre Basin—in outback (south-west and central) Queensland—flow towards the lake through the Channel Country . The amount of water from the monsoon determines whether water will reach the lake and, if it does, how deep
2600-465: Was just one hotel serving canned or bottled beer, a library, a visitor information centre, a museum and a hospital. In the 2016 census , the locality of Birdsville had a population of 140 people. 86.1% of people were born in Australia and 94.2% of people only spoke English at home. In the 2021 census , the locality of Birdsville had a population of 110 people. Birdsville has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Birdsville State School
2652-439: Was proclaimed, the town had three hotels, two stores, a customs house for interstate trade, a police station and a large collection of commercial buildings. Diamantina Shire was established in 1883, and its headquarters were at Birdsville until moved to Bedourie in 1953. Birdsville Post Office opened on 1 January 1883. Birdsville, over 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) west of Brisbane and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of
SECTION 50
#17328518111052704-488: Was recorded while 659 mm (25.9 in) fell in 1917. Dust storms are most likely during periods of strong wind which typically occur in spring. Birdsville has recorded the highest confirmed temperature in the state of Queensland, with 49.5 °C (121.1 °F) having been recorded on 24 December 1972. Birdsville disease is an illness observed in horses, caused by eating the native plant Birdsville indigo ( Indigofera linnaei ) which contains natural toxins including
#104895