Birdsville, Queensland
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Birdsville is a small town located in Central West Queensland, Australia. The town is located 1590 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane, and 720 kilometres south of the city of Mount Isa. Birdsville is situated on the edge of the Simpson Desert, and the climate is very arid.
Birdsville is located in the Diamantina Shire, which has a population of 326 persons (Census 2001). The Birdsville Track extends 514 kilometres from Marree in South Australia through the Strzelecki Desert before ending at Birdsville.
The town is nowadays famous for the legendary annual Birdsville Races, which are held in September in aid of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. The tiny town population is swelled to many thousands for the two day event, and hundreds of aircraft often fill the town's airstrip.
Also home to a 150KW Geothermal Power Station. Water is extracted from the Great Artesian Basin (at 98°C) before being vaporised into steam, producing energy for the town.