The Great Australian Camel Race: Difference between revisions
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The '''Great Australian Camel Race''' was a camel endurance event held in mid 1988. It is described as the longest animal endurance race ever held.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-11 |title=The Great Australian Camel Race (part 1) |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-history-listen/the-history-listen-great-australian-camel-race/102162204 |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Great Camel Race {{!}} Bill Leimbach {{!}} 1988 {{!}} ACMI collection |url=https://www.acmi.net.au/works/81240--the-great-camel-race/ |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=www.acmi.net.au |language=en}}</ref> The event was the inspiration of the Australian property millionaire Arthur Earle, who wanted to organise an endurance race to celebrate the |
The '''Great Australian Camel Race''' was a camel endurance event held in mid 1988. It is described as the longest animal endurance race ever held.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-11 |title=The Great Australian Camel Race (part 1) |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-history-listen/the-history-listen-great-australian-camel-race/102162204 |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Great Camel Race {{!}} Bill Leimbach {{!}} 1988 {{!}} ACMI collection |url=https://www.acmi.net.au/works/81240--the-great-camel-race/ |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=www.acmi.net.au |language=en}}</ref> The event was the inspiration of the Australian property millionaire Arthur Earle, who wanted to organise an endurance race to celebrate the harsh outback. The race was to inject more celebration into [[Australia's Bicentennial]] year while also raising funds for the [[Royal Flying Doctor Service]]. The race also intended to recognise the positive impact that [[Afghan cameleers in Australia|Afghan cameleers]] had on the exploration of central Australia, and highlight the importance these animals had in the development of these arid lands. |
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==The event== |
==The event== |
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Calculating these times into a 24‑hour period, then gaining an average of distance traveled daily equates to O'Connell taking 20 days in total time to complete, covering 168 km every 24 hours as the average (This includes meals, sleeping and animal feeding). In addition to this, the final distance he won by had been reached by the second leg of the race. He won the first four of the six legs, even when he was hospitalised with kidney failure from [[shigella]] dysentery (which struck 80% of the other competitors too) on the second leg going into Boulia.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-04-18 |title=The Great Australian Camel Race (part 2) |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-history-listen/great-ausralian-camel-race/102173836 |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref> The race was put on hold until they were well enough to continue.<ref name=":0" /> |
Calculating these times into a 24‑hour period, then gaining an average of distance traveled daily equates to O'Connell taking 20 days in total time to complete, covering 168 km every 24 hours as the average (This includes meals, sleeping and animal feeding). In addition to this, the final distance he won by had been reached by the second leg of the race. He won the first four of the six legs, even when he was hospitalised with kidney failure from [[shigella]] dysentery (which struck 80% of the other competitors too) on the second leg going into Boulia.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-04-18 |title=The Great Australian Camel Race (part 2) |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-history-listen/great-ausralian-camel-race/102173836 |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref> The race was put on hold until they were well enough to continue.<ref name=":0" /> |
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After the event |
After the event O'Connell went to retire his camel, Carla, when a dispute broke out over ownership. Because she had won one of the longest race events in history, the original person O'Connell was involved with before the race, made claim to her and half the winnings and wanted to use her name to start his camel business. After close to six years, O'Connell was finally awarded the winnings, damages, and ownership of the camel (until her death in 2014).<ref name=":1" /> |
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==Media== |
==Media== |
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Revision as of 09:23, 7 April 2024
The Great Australian Camel Race was a camel endurance event held in mid 1988. It is described as the longest animal endurance race ever held.[1][2] The event was the inspiration of the Australian property millionaire Arthur Earle, who wanted to organise an endurance race to celebrate the harsh outback. The race was to inject more celebration into Australia's Bicentennial year while also raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The race also intended to recognise the positive impact that Afghan cameleers had on the exploration of central Australia, and highlight the importance these animals had in the development of these arid lands.
The event
The planned route was 3,300 km (2,100 mi) long spanning from the centre of Australia, starting at Ayers Rock, to the east coast of Australia ending on the Gold Coast.[3] The race was broken down into six legs each with check points:(source: Australasian geographical magazine Geo Volume 11 number 3)
- Leg 1: Ayers Rock to Alice Spring (Northern Territory 410 km)
- Leg 2: Alice Springs to Boulia (Northern Territory to Queensland 761 km)
- Leg 3: Boulia to Longreach (Queensland app. 604 km)
- Leg 4: Longreach to Charleville (Queensland app. 530 km)
- Leg 5: Charleville to Warwick, Queensland (Queensland app. 1242 km)
- Leg 6: Warwick to Gold Coast (Queensland app. 140 km)
Australia's elite SASR (Special Air Service Regiment) along with the a team from the 2/4 Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, competitors from the United States, Australia's leading camel handlers, adventurers, and ex-marathon runners entered the event. The army was the team organising the legs and were there for the safety of all competitors along with competing themselves. In addition, they were the best equipped for the event with hundreds of support personnel and vehicles. The competition was timed according to how long it took each participant to finish a leg, much like a vehicle rally.
Results
The event began on 23 April 1988 with 69 competitors.[3] Adventurer Alby Mangels was one of the starters but soon had to drop out.[3] Often due to issues with the camels, 19 teams did not make it to the second stage. The clear early leaders were the SASR and Gordon O'Connell (who had trained with his camel for 10 months prior to the event).
For the next three months, competitors battled disease, floods and competitor rivalry, as the mix of people in the event varied greatly. A total of 24 competitors completed the event[4] with the winner, Gordon, finishing in 480 hours, the second-place SASR finishing 34 hours after that, and third-place Steve French 28 hours after that.[5]
Calculating these times into a 24‑hour period, then gaining an average of distance traveled daily equates to O'Connell taking 20 days in total time to complete, covering 168 km every 24 hours as the average (This includes meals, sleeping and animal feeding). In addition to this, the final distance he won by had been reached by the second leg of the race. He won the first four of the six legs, even when he was hospitalised with kidney failure from shigella dysentery (which struck 80% of the other competitors too) on the second leg going into Boulia.[6] The race was put on hold until they were well enough to continue.[3]
After the event O'Connell went to retire his camel, Carla, when a dispute broke out over ownership. Because she had won one of the longest race events in history, the original person O'Connell was involved with before the race, made claim to her and half the winnings and wanted to use her name to start his camel business. After close to six years, O'Connell was finally awarded the winnings, damages, and ownership of the camel (until her death in 2014).[6]
Media
The event featured in the four-hour documentary produced by Orana Films and photographed in the Australasian geographical magazine Geo (Volume 11 number 3 page 97). It also featured in a 106 minute video, released in 1988, titled The Great camel race: the longest animal endurance race ever.[7][8]
See also
References
- ^ "The Great Australian Camel Race (part 1)". ABC listen. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "The Great Camel Race | Bill Leimbach | 1988 | ACMI collection". www.acmi.net.au. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d "'A recipe for disaster': The camel race that offered adventure — then took a serious turn for the worse". ABC News. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "Paddy McHugh - Tours to Simpson Desert, Camel Races, Cattle Drive outback Australia". www.paddymchugh.com. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Sheratons Great Australian Camel Race Final Results
- ^ a b "The Great Australian Camel Race (part 2)". ABC listen. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "The Great camel race [videorecording] : the longest animal endurance race ever". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "The Great Camel Race | Orana Films". Orana Films | Just another WordPress site. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2024.