Birdsville Races

Horses flying past on the Birdsville Racetrack, circa 1926

The Birdsville Races are horse races held each year in September in the Queensland, Australia, town of Birdsville. Funds are raised in aid of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. The population is swelled from about 100 to around 7,000 people for the two-day event.[1]

As Birdsville is very remote, many travellers come by air and hundreds of aircraft fill the town's airstrip.[2] The town of Quilpie celebrates the event by welcoming travellers who are heading westwards to Birdsville by road.[3]

In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Birdsville Races were announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an "event and festival".[4]

  1. ^ "Birdsville population swells ahead of races". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 September 2005. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
  2. ^ Stich, Uli (2003). "Hundreds of planes visiting the Birdsville races". Birdsville Outback Queensland Australia. www.ulistich.com. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
  3. ^ Chrissy Arthur. "Birdsville braces for race meet influx". ABC North West Queensland. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  4. ^ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.