When the film maker John Heyer was hired “to produce a film that reflects the spirit of Australia” in the middle of last century, he chose the Marree to Birdsville mail route as the focus of his film and the mailman Tom Kruse as the representative of all the hardworking pioneers who had opened up inland Australia. The story of Tom Kruse’s life before, during and after the film is told by Kristin Weidenbach in her book Mailman of the Birdsville Track.
The Birdsville Track between Marree in South Australia and Birdsville in Queensland is around 520 kilometres in length. Today it can be travelled in around 10 1/2 hours, but when Kruse started making the mail run up the track in 1935 the journey took 3 to 4 days. Passengers had to dismount at the Ooroowillanie sand hill, and use matting and pipes to help the truck inch forward until it reached solid ground again. When the Cooper Creek was in flood the trip could stretch from days into weeks. When the truck broke down, replacement parts had to be fashioned from any available materials.
The book is based on the recollections of Tom Kruse as communicated to the author over numerous interviews. Kruse died two weeks ago at the age of 96. The book does not quite rise to the heights of John Heyer’s 1954 film The Back of Beyond, which was awarded the Grand Prix Assoluto at the Venice Biennale and led to Kruse being appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire, but it does tell a charming tale of a uniquely Australian character.