Bedourie …An Oasis in the Desert

Bedourie is a town with a population of 120 perched on a sand dune, surrounded by Eyre Creek, 1,600 kms from Brisbane and 200 kms from Birdsville.

Bedourie is the Administrative centre of the Diamantina Shire which covers an area of 95,000 sq kms. In the 1800’s it was a major rest stop for  drovers moving cattle from NT and Qsld to Birdsville to a customs collection Point.

Today it is still a rest stop for travelers going south to Birdsville and through the Desert and also north to Mt Isa and NT. The town has excellent facilities…Hotel, Motel, 2 caravan parks, a restaurant and tavern, general store, fuel services, Police Station, Medical Clinic, Centrelink, Community Centre, Information centre, Spa and Swimming pool and great picnic and resting places shaded by trees full of white cockatoos after the flowering gum blossoms.

Admission to the pool and hot spa is free, with a holding deposit from the Information Centre

The Hotel was built in 1886 and has been run by John Smith and his family all his life. It is constructed of sun-dried  clay bricks and a thatched roof, and largely untouched since the 1880’s featuring a huge open fireplace, a timber beams and a verandah

The mud hut opposite the hotel was the original home of the Smith Family and now heritage listed. It is constructed by clay bricks from the Eyre River banks, and features a shed and verandahs all around held by solid poles.

The Information Centre is next to the Mud Hut

The major heart of Bedourie is the Simpson Desert Oasis and Roadhouse, which features a huge general store, fuel and tyres and car services, a great restaurant, where I am the cook, a friendly bar with locals ready to chat with you and share the sporting events, and accommodation ranging from $10 camping sites to Motel rooms and full 2 roomed units for families.

All services are here..as you can see from the signpost in the main street of Bedourie