| Birdsville Queensland |
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The Birdsville Hotel, adjacent to the apron of Birdsville Airport. |
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Birdsville
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| Population: | 115[1] | ||||||
| Established: | 1887 | ||||||
| Postcode: | 4482 | ||||||
| Elevation: | 46.5 m (153 ft) | ||||||
| Location: | |||||||
| LGA: | Diamantina Shire | ||||||
| State District: | Mount Isa | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Maranoa | ||||||
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Birdsville is a small town located in the Channel Country of western Queensland, Australia. It is 1590 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane, and 720 kilometres south of the city of Mount Isa. Birdsville is on the edge of the Simpson Desert, and the climate is very arid. At the 2006 census, Birdsville had a population of 115.[1]
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Proclaimed a town in 1887, Birdsville was located at the border of South Australia and Queensland to collect tolls from the droves of cattle being moved interstate. Birdsville was formerly known as Diamantina Crossing. Later the name Birdsville was adopted believing to be on account of the prolific bird life in the district.
Many of Australia's pioneering European explorers travelled through the Birdsville district well before the town was gazetted. Monuments to acknowledge the feats of Captain Charles Sturt, Burke & Wills, Madigan and others are located throughout the town.
Birdsville had a population of over 300 at the turn of the twentieth century. It had 3 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 [2] to about 50 throughout the 1950s. Livestock trade kept the region alive and in recent times tourism has joined cattle as the major industry in the area.
Birdsville is located by the Diamantina River in the Diamantina Shire, which has a population of 326 persons (Census 2001). The Birdsville Track extends 514 kilometres from Marree in South Australia through the Strzelecki Desert before ending at Birdsville.
When proclaimed the town had three hotels, two stores, a customs house for interstate trade, a police station and a large collection of commercial buildings but In 2007 there was just one hotel, serving canned or bottled beer, and a hospital..[3] Today Birdsville is a popular tourist destination with many people using it as a stopping point across the Simpson Desert. In recent years a number of companies have started operating scenic flights round Lake Eyre departing from Birdsville, such as Birdsville Air Charters and Central Eagle Aviation[4][5]. It is also known for the annual Birdsville Races, which are held in September each year in aid of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. The tiny town population is augmented by many thousands for the two day event, and hundreds of aircraft fill the town's 1,700 metres (1,859 yd) airstrip.[6] In 2010 the races were cancelled for the first time in the event's history due to rain.
Birdsville also has an 80 kW Geothermal Power Station. Water is extracted from the Great Artesian Basin at 98 °C 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.[7]
| Climate data for Birdsville Police Station | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 48.5 (119.3) |
45.9 (114.6) |
45.0 (113.0) |
41.7 (107.1) |
37.8 (100.0) |
32.4 (90.3) |
33.4 (92.1) |
36.2 (97.2) |
42.4 (108.3) |
45.1 (113.2) |
48.7 (119.7) |
49.5 (121.1) |
49.5 (121.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 38.8 (101.8) |
37.8 (100.0) |
35.1 (95.2) |
30.3 (86.5) |
24.8 (76.6) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
23.5 (74.3) |
28.1 (82.6) |
32.1 (89.8) |
35.5 (95.9) |
37.7 (99.9) |
30.5 (86.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 24.2 (75.6) |
24.1 (75.4) |
21.1 (70.0) |
16.2 (61.2) |
11.3 (52.3) |
7.9 (46.2) |
6.6 (43.9) |
8.3 (46.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
16.1 (61.0) |
19.7 (67.5) |
22.5 (72.5) |
15.8 (60.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
9.4 (48.9) |
6.0 (42.8) |
1.7 (35.1) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
0.4 (32.7) |
1.5 (34.7) |
2.8 (37.0) |
8.5 (47.3) |
10.9 (51.6) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 24.7 (0.972) |
29.0 (1.142) |
16.4 (0.646) |
9.5 (0.374) |
11.8 (0.465) |
10.4 (0.409) |
10.9 (0.429) |
6.4 (0.252) |
5.7 (0.224) |
12.1 (0.476) |
13.5 (0.531) |
16.0 (0.63) |
167.0 (6.575) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 22.6 |
| Source: [8] | |||||||||||||