Friday 03 August, 2001
Outback Camel Races
Camels mean big bucks for outback Australians. Not only do farmers’ breed them, but tourists also ride them and jockeys even race them.
Outlook reports from the annual Boulia Desert Sands race, where camel racing is a serious business.
Camels and their owners trek for weeks across the red dusty desert of the Australian outback to congregate at Boulia. A tiny dot on the map, 1450km north west of Brisbane, it is here that the annual Desert Sands race takes place.
Once there camel lovers catch up with their fellow racers as they swap tips on how to make a camel run in a straight line or even run at all.
This may all sound like a bit of fun, and indeed camel racing can be very entertaining, but there is also serious prize money at stake as the Boulia purse currently stands at (Aus) $30,000.
Fast And Feral
Paddy McHugh is not only the man behind the event, but the first Queenslander to initiate camel racing. He believes that it is the fastest growing sport in the outback because of the easy access to animals:
| ‘Australia is the only country in the world with a feral camel population. There’s over 5,000 in the desert country around Boulia alone.’ | |
Having access to the animals is one thing, but why and how do you race them?
Inspired by the multi-billion-dollar camel industry operating in the United Arab Emirates, McHugh set to work on developing a professional camel racing circuit in Australia.
He explains:
‘We had an act of parliament to give us legal bookmakers, we micro chipped the camels and drug test them. Since Boulia started, we used to race in big heavy saddles, now it’s all racing pads, they are all light weight, 50 kilo jockey type stuff. It’s really encouraged a new industry.’
Catching A Camel
It’s an industry that has lured hundreds of outbackers. Tired of scratching a living from the dry sands, the camel handlers come from all walks of life.
One former policeman now makes his living from racing the humped beasts. He explains how his thriving business began after catching and training the first camel:
‘There is one camel here called Stevie Wonder … I was on the front of a motor bike and a mate was on the back. He was a pretty smart little camel to catch, when we raced along side him he kept ducking behind us, so my mate jumped off the back and as he ducked behind we put a rope on him.’
Making A Camel Run
Getting a camel to run straight is no mean achievement. Training includes track work, grooming and handling.
The jockeys require nerves of steal as even if a race is going well they must be prepared for the animal to simply stop mid race and get its breath back.
Most of them, in a break from racing tradition, are women as their light frames are an advantage on the course.
One female rider explains the repetitive nature of the training:
‘We do lots of rail work, round and round the track, because when you are riding you don’t have any steering. If they go wide, you lose the race because they lose too much distance. We do some sprinting and sometimes we tow them behind cars.’
Once racing begins, time becomes all-important as the trainers and jockeys aim to beat the ultimate speeds set by their Middle Eastern counterparts.
One day the race organisers hope that they will become the best camel racers in the world.
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| Outback Camels |
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There are an estimated 200,000 camels in central Australia.
The first were imported by Afghan traders in the 19th century and soon became a popular form of transport.
With the introduction of the motor car, many beasts were released into the wilds of the outback.
The first novelty camel race in Australia took place in Alice Springs in the 1900s.
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| Drunk Camel Driving |
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In 1998, Richard Church became the first Australian man to be charged with being drunk in charge of a camel.
Church was arrested after it was discovered that he often drank beer and then hurtled along the outback roads at a speed of up to four-miles-per-hour (6kmph).
The police claimed that he was a danger to other road users, but in his defence Church claimed that he rarely saw any other vehicles on the roads.
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