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Posted
On 1/4/2025 at 4:12 PM, Buckshot Bear said:
THE LONELIEST TOWN IN AUSTRALIA
The tiny outpost has a population of ZERO after pub owner, 88, dies – and he hadn't sold a drop in five years.
With little more than a derelict hotel, broken petrol pump and a vandalised phone box to its name, the abandoned town of Betoota stands alone in the middle of a barren desert plain.
It was once a busy meeting place for farmers and drovers moving their cattle through customs and onto the markets of South Australia.
But the deserted outpost, which lies 170km east of the nearest populated area, Birdsville, in Queensland, is now officially the smallest ghost town in the country.
And with an official population of zero, the town - which sees temperatures soar into the 50s - is also the tiniest by resident and building count in the world, according to the Herald Sun.
For several decades it was home to just one resident - Polish-born Simon Remienko.
He ran the 12-year-old Betoota Hotel, the only building in town, for 44 years before shutting up shop in 1997.
But he continued to live alone in the town until he passed away in 2004 at the age of 88.
Speaking in 2002, he told The Age: 'I own the place - if you own something and it makes you happy, there is no reason to leave it.
'There is always something for me to do here. If I don't look after myself, nobody else will.'
He stocked a full bar in the years leading up to his death, despite not having sold a drop in five years.
Betoota's history can be traced back to to the late 1880s when it was used as a customs post and Cobb & Co change station.
Hundreds of workers were attracted to the area after the building of a Rabbit Proof Fence in 1895, meaning the construction of a police station and a court was necessary.
But when changes were introduced to the customs services in 1901, population numbers began to dwindle.
In 1928, an inspection of the town revealed that in the past five years no one had been taken into custody and so the courthouse and police station closed their doors.
The town started to fall rapidly into a state of neglect and disrepair.
But Mr Remienko breathed new energy into the town when he purchased the hotel for £3,500 in 1953.
Now the ghost town only comes alive on the last weekend in August each year for The Betoota Races.

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How desolate is Betoota?

 

Mark Harvey - Google Maps

 

(Right click on the link, click on Open Link, and it will open.)

 

But at least they got rain recently!

 

Another fascinating introduction to Straya by Buckshot Bear!

Thanks!

 

 

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Posted
On 1/8/2025 at 2:16 AM, Brazos John said:

How desolate is Betoota?

 

Mark Harvey - Google Maps

 

(Right click on the link, click on Open Link, and it will open.)

 

But at least they got rain recently!

 

Another fascinating introduction to Straya by Buckshot Bear!

Thanks!

 

 

 

Great 360° map.

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Posted
THE PERISCOPE RIFLE - 1915
The periscope rifle was an ingenious ANZAC device, improvised from the need for soldiers to find a way to snipe at the Turkish enemy, a short distance away, without showing their heads above the trench parapet.
A box-wood frame held aloft a rifle that rested on top of the parapet. Reflecting mirrors set into the frame allowed a soldier, safely hidden below, to see across to enemy lines.
The soldier then used a length of wire to pull the trigger whenever the enemy was spotted.
These rifles were used constantly at ANZAC Cove, from late May 1915 until the evacuation. A “factory” was even set up on the beach to make the frames. The periscope rifle saved many ANZAC lives, especially at Quinn’s Post, where the enemy line was very close.
An interesting question is whether South Australian soldier, Private George Tostet, 10th Battalion, AIF was involved in the invention of the periscope rifle? A photograph held in the collection of the Australian War Memorial certainly suggests this possibility.
It is most likely, though, that Victorian soldier, William Beech, was the original inventor with others, including Tostet, making various adaptions and improvements.
PHOTO - The Periscope Rifle saved many soldiers' lives as it allowed them to see the enemy without showing themselves over the parapet.

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Posted

With the recent humorous posts in another thread, does Australia have such a thing as the "sovereign citizen" phenomenon we have here in the US?

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Posted
43 minutes ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said:

well I went and looked up the races , it be a horse race 

 

  seems as they bring their own BAR with em 

 

  CB 


GOOD PLAN!!

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Posted
1 minute ago, Buckshot Bear said:

473362441_10165139423867995_2465692112414693666_n.jpg.4ea7d762a4098e5ffee87d59fcb89e41.jpg

I can smell how good that looks! :)

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Posted
19 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

I can smell how good that looks! :)

 

It was Monday 8.00am when I posted that Eyesa.....and its made me soooo hungry!

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Posted
6 hours ago, Buckshot Bear said:

473362441_10165139423867995_2465692112414693666_n.jpg.4ea7d762a4098e5ffee87d59fcb89e41.jpg

Burger looks pretty tasty - plenty greasy, with grilled onions and American cheese.

Or do y'all call it something different?

 

One more thing:

1. Please cook the bacon crispy, if that's for me. That's just kind of warmed.

2. What do you put on the bread - mayo, Miracle Whip, other dressing?

3. Where's the beetroot? I haven't tried that yet, but I will, the next time I'm in Australia!

4. And what do you wash it down with?

Cheers!

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Posted
16 hours ago, Brazos John said:

Burger looks pretty tasty - plenty greasy, with grilled onions and American cheese.

Or do y'all call it something different?

 

One more thing:

1. Please cook the bacon crispy, if that's for me. That's just kind of warmed.
I'd like it more crispy as well

2. What do you put on the bread - mayo, Miracle Whip, other dressing?
Here the staple is just BBQ sauce (and butter the bread)

3. Where's the beetroot? I haven't tried that yet, but I will, the next time I'm in Australia!
There must be beetroot hidden in there somewhere, a burger is not a burger without it!

4. And what do you wash it down with?
Coke early in the day and beer later in the day :) 

Cheers!

 

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Posted
On 1/12/2025 at 3:30 PM, Buckshot Bear said:

473362441_10165139423867995_2465692112414693666_n.jpg.4ea7d762a4098e5ffee87d59fcb89e41.jpg

Between the bread and the bacon - those fried eggs? They look like fried eggs. If they're not, what is it?

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Posted
14 minutes ago, Alpo said:

Between the bread and the bacon - those fried eggs? They look like fried eggs. If they're not, what is it?

 

Yes a Fried Egg Alpo. 

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Posted
16 minutes ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said:

and just HOW FAST , can you travel on that dirt track ? 

 

CB :huh:

 

The fastest legal speed limit in Australia is 130 kilometers per hour (km/h) on some highways in the Northern Territory. The Australian Capital Territory's fastest posted limit is 100 km/h, and the rest of the States have a freeway limit of 110 km/h.

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