Ghost of ages past

Birdsville pub

I was not the first of my family to order a beer at the Birdsville pub.  Not by a long shot.

In fact, before the first stone was ever laid to build either the pub or the town, my great great uncle, E A P Burt was out riding the red dunes in the area, scouting for a location to set up his store.

Ebenezer Alma Percival Burt, nicknamed Percy, was my great grandfather's brother. He was one of the founding settlers of the place that was to become Birdsville.

Percy owned and operated a large corrugated iron general store, called Burt & Co, opposite the Birdsville pub.

The street fronting the pub, and Percy's store, sat still bears his name:  Burt Street.

 Percy's store was on Burt Street, opposite the Birdsville pub

For a while, in no-name land, the crossing where he set up his shop was informally called 'Burtsville', possibly an easy address for the Afghan camel drivers to recall, as they began regularly delivering goods there, ordered for the run holders and workers of the Mulligan, the Georgina and the Diamantina.

Percy and others at the time, were responsible for the eventual location of the town, and its name.  They wrote to the South Australian government requesting that a township be located on the Diamantina Crossing for the purposes of servicing stations growing in the area.  As no answer was forthcoming from Adelaide the gentlemen eventually approached the Queensland government, who were happy to reserve several square miles for a town, on the Queensland side of the border in the early 1880s.

At the time customs were charged at interstate crossings, and Birdsville became a lucrative custom collection point until federation in 1901.   Albeit, that the first customs collector lived under the shade of coolibah tree after one of the legendary Birdsville sandstorms wrenched his calico tent from its pegs and sent it flying afar.  He sometimes held as much as '£2000 stacked around him' at any one time, as there was no bank yet in town.  Though he did carry a musket as protection for his wad.

Percy helped to organise the first Birdsville races which were attended by 150 local station owners, managers,  stockmen and townsfolk.  The meeting ran from the 20 - 22 September, 1882,  and the big race on the first day was the Burt Stakes, with a purse of 25 sovereigns.

After the prizes were handed out at Tucker's pub,  a meeting was held in Percy's large iron store where the first branch of the Birdsville Border Jockey Club was formed with forty-two keen members.   For many years Percy acted as either the Secretary, or the Treasurer, of the Birdsville Border Jockey Club helping to organise the races at Birdsville year after year.  He was often,  over the years, to present cups and purses at the Birdsville races.

At various times right through to Federation, Percy was appointed Chair of the Divisional Board of Diamantina and headed up committees which drew up the rules and regulations governing early Birdsville: operating very much like a Shire Council does today, organising everything from camel transit, to road maintenance, to rabbit proof fencing.

One of his best mates was William Blair, who built, owned and operated the Birdsville pub.   Percy married William's sister, Ada Susanne, one hot November day, in 1885.  Theirs was the first wedding held in Birdsville,  and was attended by a crowd of neighbouring squatters and managers who came to town especially to witness the event.  The couple honeymooned at one of the outstations along the Diamantina, Kyratunga, after which they returned to Birdsville to continue their work in town.

Percy was at the Birdsville pub just a couple of months later, when William and Ada's brother,  Edward,  rode into town after a long hot day in the saddle.  Edward proceeded to drink pitcher after pitcher of water,  trying to quench a raging thirst, but within hours complained of severe stomach cramps.  Which did not ease.  Edward died a painful death that very night.

The land around Birdsville

Another of Percy's mates was Robert Frew, who owned one of the other stores in Birdsville.  Robert was known for being in John MacDouall Stuart's exploration party to the northern gulf from Adelaide  in 1862.  He became one of the first settlers in the Birdsville region, setting up Haddon Downs, Cadelga station, and helping to form Pandie Pandie.  Percy was with his friend Robert Frew the night Robert drank himself to death at the Birdsville pub.

The times were hard.  The living was tough.  The tough did always survive.

Life was made harder for Percy when Queensland opened a railway link to Barcaldine allowing many of his customers to trade directly with Rockhampton or Townsville stores.  His income dropped from £14,000 pa. to barely £5,000 pa. in just one year.

So, when storekeeping was no longer a viable option, Percy sold up in Birdsville, and headed further west, to mine in the West Australian goldfields.

Survival kit, Birdsville museum

Where life was to become even tougher.

And, propping up the Birdsville bar with many an old mate ready to discuss the pros and cons of the next to last race -- became barely a memory.

oooOOOooo