Birdsville Courthouse Museum Opens Its Doors

After standing the test of time for over a century, Birdsville's historic courthouse has been transformed into a museum to showcase the outback town's rich history. The complex, built from local materials on the edge of the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park, was once home to police stationed in the remote outback until it was abandoned in 1988.

Current and former residents of Birdsville gathered recently to officially open the courthouse museum, a project that has been 20 years in the making. Maria Sammon Wheeler, who lived in the building as a child when her father was the town officer in the 1960s, was among those who helped push for the museum to be created.

"I really wanted the stories to be told of how life was in those days and to keep them true to form," she said.

"I'm 77 now and [there are] fewer of us to remember accurately."

Wheeler described life in the outback as harsh on families and wives, but amazing for children to grow up in. She fondly recalled playing outside, down the creek, fishing, and chasing yabbies, and learning Aboriginal crafts.

However, for other residents, the building also represented a challenging era in town when the government controlled the lives of local Indigenous people. Wangkangurru man and retiring park ranger Don Rowlands, who has lived in Birdsville all his life, said the building brought up difficult memories for him.

"Growing up … our job was to yard the goats for the police at night and milk them … and deliver the milk to his back door, and more than one time he'd come running out and beat the crap out of us," Mr Rowlands said.

"We were just known then as bloody flora and fauna, so we didn't have that voice at all."

As a child, Mr Rowlands was a ward of the state, which meant local authorities had a significant hand in directing his early years. He recalled having to go to the police officer, who was the protector of Aborigines, to access his endowment.

"If you wanted your endowment, you had to go to the copper; he was the protector of Aborigines, and he ran all those programs," Mr Rowlands said.

"Sometimes, he'd say yes and sometimes he wouldn't … we just had no control."

Mr Rowlands hopes the museum will provide a broader understanding of Birdsville's past and spark conversations about the town's complex history.

"It opens a conversation, I guess, for tourists who go through it and come out the other end and then maybe talk to people like myself about the other side of the story," he said.

"It might give it another perspective like we've always been under the thumb."

Several Indigenous elders also returned for the opening ceremony, some of whom had not been back in almost 30 years. Peta Rowlands, Mr Rowland's daughter, organised for the elders to come together to celebrate Indigenous history while in town.

Diamantina Shire Mayor Francis Murray said the opening celebrations allowed for everyone to share their views on Birdsville's history.

"I think we've got different versions [of the past], but today, we walked through that door together," Cr Murray said.

"It's an opportunity for everyone to tell their stories."