THE LEYLAND BADGER

By the side of the Birdsville track at Mungerannie, I paused to inspect a remnant of yester-year. Standing amongst drifting desert sands, slowly rusting, tyres deflated, doors, windows and other body parts missing this once proud warrior of the Outback was a reminder of the days when it was driven by the indomitable Tom Kruse fighting his way over rough tracks and through inhospitable country.




Climbing over the tops of the highest red sand dunes and through flooded river-beds, which often resulted in delays of several days.


Tom and the Badger always delivered, always made it through to be eagerly greeted by station residents waiting for Mail and supplies. I salute another true legend of Outback Australia.

Esmond Gerald (Tom) Kruse, born at Waterloo on 28 August 1914, the son of Harry and Ida Kruse, conquered sand hills, sand and dust storms, flies and floods, swollen rivers and creeks, bugs and bogs and numerous mechanical breakdowns but delivered the mail without fail, although sometimes a little late. Between 1930 and 1960, for twenty years once a fortnight, through summer heat or rain, when Tom had the contract, never did the people along the Birdsville track go without their mail. Tom is, and was, an outback legend in his own time.

Tom's truck, a Leyland Badger built in 1936, gave up the ghost in 1957. After being abandoned in Sturt's Stony Desert more than 40 years ago, Tom's Badger has been restored and driven by 85 year old Tom for the last time to its permanent home at the Birdwood Motor Museum. After this last run by Tom Kruse in October 1999, to deliver more than 7000 letters from all over the world, his truck is now housed at the Birdwood Museum. During that trip $12,000 was raised for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Tom used to call at such places as Lake Harry, Dulkaninna, Cannuwaukaninna, Ooroowillanie, Mirra Mitta, Mulka Store, Burt's Hole, Mount Fitton, Alton Downs, Mount Gason, Roseberth, Goyder Lagoon, Kalamurina, Kopperamanna, Killalpaninna, Mungarannie, Clifton Hills, Pandie Pandie, New Well also known as by its Aboriginal name Mulkanundracooracooratarraninna, Lyndhurst, Glengyle, Durrie, Birdsville, Clayton Bore, Etadunna, Oodnadatta and numerous other places.

One of Tom Kruse's Leyland Badgers is pictured somewhere along the famous Birdsville Track while carting frame timbers to rebuild the burnt-out Birdsville Hospital, following its first-time fire in 1937. Fred Teague is at the wheel, accompanied by offsider Wally Blucher. Fred was the owner/operator of the Hawker garage from the time he married at the outbreak of war, but had been running the mails for 18 months pre-war on his own account until the time he settled down and was virtually on call for Tom. When the hospital burnt down again almost a quarter of a century later, Fred was at it once more, engaged by Tom Kruse in bringing up the materials for the next rebuild of the hospital.


When he resumed the mail contract after the outbreak of WWII, Tom Kruse bought another Leyland Badger, this time one equipped with a powerful 5.7 litre diesel engine in contrast with the lesser-performing lower-spec'd petrol-engined models he'd run in the past. He rated it as the best of the bunch he'd had up to that stage, but once the war was over and ex-Army disposals sales brought four-wheel drive Blitzwagons into the market, Tom reckoned :"Life became a little easier and we didn't do nearly as much digging out of the sandhills as we had to do with the older trucks."

- AMJB