‘WE’RE OUTBACK ROYALTY!’

There’s no place like Birdsville for the Brook family

- Ruth McCarthy

If you take the road west of Brisbane and travel 1600km, nestled on the edge of two deserts you’ll eventually stumble across the tiny but famous outback Queensland town of Birdsville.

Dry drought-ridden earth spans as far as the eye can see and the land is unforgiving under the scorching heat. But for the 115 locals that live here, it’s home.

“Birdsville’s not for most people but I love it. It will always be my home,” Birdsville-born- and-bred resident Jenna Brook tells Woman’s Day. “It’s in my blood.”

The youngest of five generations of the Brook family dynasty, Jenna comes from a long line of cattle farmers, whose presence in the area goes back to the late 1800s.

The Brooks are still playing a pivotal role in building Birdsville but these days only Jenna, her brother Anthony and their parents, David, 74, and Nell, 73, remain in the tiny outback town.

LIFE ON THE LAND

“My family own six cattle stations and used to part-own the pub,” says Jenna, 35. “I own and operate the Roadhouse and Fuel Service, which includes the local post office as well as the mechanics and Humpy Cafe.”