Birdsville is located on the edge of the Simpson Desert in far western Queensland, Australia, about 1590 km west of Brisbane and 720 kilometres south of Mount Isa. Situated on the Diamantina River in the Diamantina Shire, Birdsville had a population of 115 in 2006 while the shire had a total population of 326 persons in 2001.
European settlers seeking minerals and grazing land for cattle moved into the Birdsville area in the 1870s. Several of Australia's pioneering European explorers traversed the Birdsville district well before the town was gazetted, including Charles Sturt and Burke and Wills. Birdsville was proclaimed a town in 1887, located at the border of South Australia and Queensland in order to collect tolls from cattle and supplies being moved interstate to South Australia. Originally known as Diamantina Crossing, the name Birdsville was later adopted in recognition of the prolific bird life in the area.
In its heyday, Birdsville had a population of over 300 and supported three hotels, two stores, a cordial factory, blacksmith store, a customs house for interstate trade, a police station and a large collection of commercial buildings. Tolls were abolished following Federation in 1901, and the town began to fall into decline. The population dwindled to approximately 50 in the 1950s. The cattle industry kept the region alive until recent times when tourism became a major industry in the area.
Today Birdsville comprises only a single hotel and a hospital, but is nevertheless a popular outback tour destination and is famous for the legendary annual Birdsville Races held in September each year. During the two day event, the town's tiny population swells to several thousand and hundreds of aircraft fill the 1,700 metre airstrip.
The Birdsville Track is an outback travel icon extending 514 km from Marree in South Australia through the Strzelecki Desert to Birdsville.
Birdsville is home to an 80 kW Geothermal Power Station providing approximately one third of the town's electricity needs. Water extracted from the Great Artesian Basin at 98°C is used to heat isopentane operating fluid in a Rankine Cycle engine. Once cooled, the water provides the town's drinking water supply.