Tom Kruse was a legend along the Birdsville Track long before Hollywood ever heard the sound of that name. Joc Schmiechen, our heritage tourism Project Officer went along to the recent Adelaide launch of Kristin Weidenbach’s book on the Birdsville Track years of this Outback legend.

The Glenelg Jetty Hotel function room was packed with Outback enthusiasts enjoying a traditional lamb roast dinner with all the trimmings – the warm and friendly atmosphere offset a crisp May, Adelaide evening. The centre of attention was a silver-haired, elderly gentleman now slightly bent with the years but still with an irrepressible sparkle in his eyes – Tom Kruse, legendary mailman of the Birdsville Track.

The evening was to launch a new book by Kristin Weidenbach chronicling the twenty years that Tom was a household word and lifeblood to the isolated dwellers along one of the loneliest tracks in Australia. Immortalised in the award-winning documentary ‘Back of Beyond’ made in the mid 1950s, Tom’s battles with the shifting sands and capricious moods of the outback became one of the classic Australian images and even drew the attention of the Queen.

Through Kristin’s father’s passionate involvement in the restoration of Tom’s favourite Badger truck, the idea for this book was conceived. Kristin provided some entertaining insights into the lengths she had to go to piece together the intricate jigsaw of a fascinating life from countless hours of interviews. Pinning down the milestone dates was a special challenge as Tom’s retentive memory was more focused on what horse had won which race rather than dates and times.

Tom’s life companion, Valma whose meticulous collection of letters, photos and news clippings provided much of the background for this great story provided a few choice details on a long life shared, where Tom was mostly absent.

In sharing some of the yarns and philosophy of an adventurous life, Tom himself provided the high that all the guests had come for. I especially liked his view on time, ‘I have never worried about time, the Almighty made plenty of it’.

After much book signing and many incidental yarns, the evening regrettably came to an end.

‘Mailman of the Birdsville Track - the story of Tom Kruse’ is a great read, but only half as good as sharing a pleasant, informative and nostalgic evening with one of the outback greats. It was a powerful reminder that one of the greatest heritage assets of the outback and the Lake Eyre Basin is the people who live and work in it.