The Melbourne Cup is the race "that stops the nation ", but Australia has another iconic racing event that is widely reported overseas. That is the Birdsville Racing Carnival and it was held last Saturday in Birdsville, right in the heart of the Australian outback and a town with a population of about a hundred people. On raceday, that swells to well over 6000.
It is the sheer audacity of the event that draws world attention. Birdsville is little more than a petrol station, a general store - and the famous Birdsville pub, but on that one race day of the year the place is packed with cars, trucks, motorbikes - quite a few camels - and lots and lots of fancy aircraft. It is the place to be "seen " and it gets coverage in fashion magazines.
The race is held on a sand track and the horses kick up a huge dust cloud - and there is serious prize money to be won. The money pot stands at $ 170,000 and both the bookies and the TAB are covering events. No wonder it is termed the " Melbourne Cup of the Outback ".
There are predictions that this event will get even bigger. In recent years it seems to have captured the imagination of adventurous people and we are seeing a visit to the Birdsville Cup becoming an adventure that requires a full year planning. One group took a week to reach Birdsville in a convoy of cars and motorbikes, extending the adventure to discover towns along the way and camp in the wild using swags.
Just as a visit to Uluru has become a "must "for tourists visiting Australia, world events are causing many Australians to reevaluate the risks of an overseas holiday. Islamic terrorism seems to be an increasing threat and this throws a shadow on places like Bali. More people are looking inward and discovering the attractions that this vast Australian continent can deliver.
The danger to events like Birdsville is the intrusion of the authorities to impose rules and laws that might stifle the spontaneity that makes it such a joyful event. Licensing laws seem to be disregarded during this weekend event and parking rules do not apply in a town where the desert stretches to the horizon. It handles crowds of six thousand people without incident, but if the numbers swelled to sixty thousand it could become a victim of it's own success.
Perhaps a good reason to include Birdsville on your "bucket list "- while it remains the "Melbourne Cup of the Outback "!
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