One man keeps one-horse town safe

– Being the only policeman in an area the size of Britain might be daunting for some, but not for Senior Constable Stephan Pursell, pictured.

The 53-year-old runs a modest police station in Birdsville, making him the law across a vast swathe of outback Australia.

In this isolated, arid, moonscape fringing the Simpson Desert, dust, pesky flies, feral camels, wild dogs and deadly snakes are your main companions.

Pursell acknowledges that his patch – which takes four days to drive across – is “quite big”. But he relishes the challenge.

“This job came up and I thought, ‘what an iconic location in Australia’, he said, “so I put an application in.”

He got the gig, and two years ago hauled himself and his wife Sharon away from Queensland’s surf, into this sandy cauldron.

“You’ve got to experience it to enjoy it. It’s an amazing place,” said Pursell, who became an internet sensation last year after shots of him frying an egg in the withering heat on the bonnet of his Toyota Land Cruiser went viral.

Birdsville itself is home to just over 100 people. There’s one hotel that doubles as the watering hole. A roadhouse allows people to stock up on fuel and essentials. But the highlight may be a bakery selling curried camel pies. So what’s the workload like? “Crime’s not an issue,” Pursell admits, adding that much of his job is that of a first responder.

“The type of jobs that we do is mainly just making sure that people get here safely, get home safely. Breakdowns, medical issues, accidents – we’ve got to be ready to respond to those sorts of things.”

The most common type of accident is vehicles rolling over, but the station has also had to deal with a pilot whose plane lost a wheel in the air after colliding with a pelican.

Because he has to monitor an area of 240 000km2, the involvement of the local community is essential.

A nurse, mechanic, Aboriginal ranger or community members may join him on rescue missions.

Twice a year the pace picks up a bit, for the century-old Birdsville horse races, which are known across Australia, and for the Big Red Bash music festival.

Both annual events attract more than 6 000 tourists who travel for days in four-wheel drives or in small planes from across the vast continent. – AFP