Birdsville enters a boom period

BIRDSVILLE must be in a boom period. Just recently, the famous and popular Birdsville Bakery sold for $1.2 million, reportedly the biggest single private tourism investment in the town in more than a decade.

With a growing event calendar, which includes not only the famous Birdsville Races but now the bigger-and-better-each-year Big Red Bash, the town is attracting between 40,000 and 60,000 visitors each year. Not bad for a town that is isolated, doesn’t have a bitumen road to it, and has a permanent population of just 100 people.

The new owner of the bakery, Martin Josselyn, also runs the 4WD tour company, Adventure Australia Treks and Tours, which will now be based in the iconic outback town and will feature plenty of tours around the surrounding region. However, I’m guessing Martin will be pretty busy baking the curried camel pies that made the bakery famous, the recipe of which was handed over with the keys – they sell more than 15,000 pies on the weekend of the races!

While private enterprise is driving much of the boom, there have been a number of public upgrades in Birdsville as well, not the least being the upgrade to the local airport.

For mere mortals like us there are also plenty of opportunities to make a living in the town, which sits on the eastern edge of the Simpson Desert.

The roadhouse and servo run by the legendary Barnsey is looking for an experienced mechanic to look after the workshop and to carry out desert retrievals, while there’s also an opening for a shop assistant in the store. Across the road there’s a spot available for someone to look after the local hardware store, while the famous hotel is looking for a new cook. There’s also an opening for a tour guide and general hand.

So, here’s your opportunity to get away from the big smoke and earn a living in the outback. You may never come back to the city again!

Find out more and explore the Corner Country