Tom Kruse (mailman)
Encyclopedia
Esmond Gerald Kruse, MBE (28 August 1914 30 June 2011) was a former mailman on the Birdsville Track
in the border area between South Australia
and Queensland
. He became known as the result of John Heyer
's 1954 film The Back of Beyond
, and in the year after the film's release, in the 1955 New Year Honours
, Kruse was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "services to the community in the outback".
in South Australia to Harry (Heinrich) and Ida Kruse. He was the tenth of their twelve children. He left school when he was 14 years old, and worked as a casual labourer on local farms. However, due to the Depression
, he "went 'bush'" around 1934 to work in John Penna's haulage business which ran out of Yunta in the mid-north of South Australia.
Kruse married Audrey Valma Fuller (known as Val) on 24 January 1942 in Adelaide, South Australia. They had four children: Pauline, Helen, Phillip and Jeffery.
Kruse worked the Birdsville Track mail run from 1936 to 1957, driving his Leyland
Badger truck. He delivered mail and other supplies including general stores, fuel and medicine to remote stations from Marree in north-west South Australia to Birdsville in central Queensland, some 325 miles (523 km) away. Each trip would take two weeks and Tom regularly had to manage break-downs, flooding creeks and rivers, and getting bogged in desert dunes.
Tom Kruse came to fame with the release of John Heyer's documentary
The Back of Beyond
in 1954. While the film follows a "typical" journey made by Kruse, showing the various people he met along the Track and the sorts of obstacles he faced, this particular journey was closely scripted and includes a number of re-enactments and a 'lost children' story. John Heyer had undertaken a research trip with Kruse earlier. Shooting on the film began in late 1952. He was appointed MBE in 1955.
in the Adelaide Hills.
in Adelaide. In May 1986, South Australia's 150th Jubilee, Tom re-enacted his run, with 80 vehicles joining in the northbound convoy. There was a second re-enactment In 1999, and in October of that year the Leyland was trucked to a few kilometres out of Birdsville so Tom could drive it into the township for celebrations. The next morning it was loaded with mail for "The Mail Truck's Last Run" to Marree. A major reason for the event was to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service
. This run resulted in another documentary, Last Mail from Birdsville - the Story of Tom Kruse. As well as a book about Tom's life written by Kristin Weidenbach entitled Mailman of the Birdville Track.
In 2000 Tom was inducted into the National Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, and in 2003 he was officially recognised as an Outback Legend by Australian Geographic
magazine. Also in 2003, Tom and his truck, the Badger, were nominated South Australian icons by the National Trust of Australia
.
In 2008, bronze busts of Tom were placed in the National Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, National Motor Museum at Birdwood, at Waterloo (his birthplace), and at Birdsville and Marree.
Kruse died in Adelaide, aged 96, on 30 June 2011.
Birdsville Track
The Birdsville Track is a notable outback road in Australia. The 517 km track runs from Marree, a small town in northern South Australia, north across the Tirari Desert and Sturt Stony Desert, ending in Birdsville in south western Queensland....
in the border area between South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. He became known as the result of John Heyer
John Heyer
John Whitefoord Heyer was an Australian documentary filmmaker, who is often described as the father of Australian documentary film....
's 1954 film The Back of Beyond
The Back of Beyond
The Back of Beyond is a feature-length award-winning Australian documentary film produced and directed by John Heyer for the Shell Film Unit. In terms of breadth of distribution, awards garnered, and critical response, it is Heyer's most successful film...
, and in the year after the film's release, in the 1955 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
, Kruse was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "services to the community in the outback".
Early life
Kruse was born at WaterlooWaterloo, South Australia
Waterloo is a settlement in South Australia, located just off the Barrier Highway between Manoora and Black Springs, approximately north east of the state capital of Adelaide....
in South Australia to Harry (Heinrich) and Ida Kruse. He was the tenth of their twelve children. He left school when he was 14 years old, and worked as a casual labourer on local farms. However, due to the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, he "went 'bush'" around 1934 to work in John Penna's haulage business which ran out of Yunta in the mid-north of South Australia.
Kruse married Audrey Valma Fuller (known as Val) on 24 January 1942 in Adelaide, South Australia. They had four children: Pauline, Helen, Phillip and Jeffery.
The Birdsville Track and The Back of Beyond
In 1936 Henry Edgar (Harry) Ding (1907-1976) bought the mail contract from John Penna and Kruse began his first run on 1 January of that year. Kruse bought the mail contract in 1947. He sold the contract in 1963.Kruse worked the Birdsville Track mail run from 1936 to 1957, driving his Leyland
Leyland Trucks
Leyland Trucks is the UK's leading medium & heavy duty truck manufacturer and is based in the town of Leyland, Lancashire. It emerged from the bankruptcy of DAF NV as the result of a management buy-out in 1993, and was acquired by PACCAR in 1998, of which it is now a subsidiary...
Badger truck. He delivered mail and other supplies including general stores, fuel and medicine to remote stations from Marree in north-west South Australia to Birdsville in central Queensland, some 325 miles (523 km) away. Each trip would take two weeks and Tom regularly had to manage break-downs, flooding creeks and rivers, and getting bogged in desert dunes.
Tom Kruse came to fame with the release of John Heyer's documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The Back of Beyond
The Back of Beyond
The Back of Beyond is a feature-length award-winning Australian documentary film produced and directed by John Heyer for the Shell Film Unit. In terms of breadth of distribution, awards garnered, and critical response, it is Heyer's most successful film...
in 1954. While the film follows a "typical" journey made by Kruse, showing the various people he met along the Track and the sorts of obstacles he faced, this particular journey was closely scripted and includes a number of re-enactments and a 'lost children' story. John Heyer had undertaken a research trip with Kruse earlier. Shooting on the film began in late 1952. He was appointed MBE in 1955.
The Leyland Badger
Kruse abandoned the truck on Pandie Pandie Station near Birdsville in 1957. It was located in the desert in 1986 during the Jubilee Mail Run re-enactment, and retrieved in 1993. A group of enthusiasts led by Neil Weidenbach, with the help of Tom, fully restored the Badger between 1996 and 1999. The truck is now kept at the National Motor Museum, at BirdwoodBirdwood, South Australia
Birdwood is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area.- Origin of the name :Formerly known as Blumberg, the German town name was anglicized during World War I, along with many others in the region in 1917...
in the Adelaide Hills.
Later life
Kruse retired in 1984, and moved to Cumberland ParkCumberland Park, South Australia
Cumberland Park is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Mitcham.The suburb's borders are Cross Road, Goodwood Road, Edward Street and Winston Avenue....
in Adelaide. In May 1986, South Australia's 150th Jubilee, Tom re-enacted his run, with 80 vehicles joining in the northbound convoy. There was a second re-enactment In 1999, and in October of that year the Leyland was trucked to a few kilometres out of Birdsville so Tom could drive it into the township for celebrations. The next morning it was loaded with mail for "The Mail Truck's Last Run" to Marree. A major reason for the event was to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service
Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia is an emergency and primary health care service for those living in rural, remote and regional areas of Australia...
. This run resulted in another documentary, Last Mail from Birdsville - the Story of Tom Kruse. As well as a book about Tom's life written by Kristin Weidenbach entitled Mailman of the Birdville Track.
In 2000 Tom was inducted into the National Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, and in 2003 he was officially recognised as an Outback Legend by Australian Geographic
Australian Geographic
The Australian Geographic is a quarterly geographical magazine-style journal created by Dick Smith in 1985. It focuses mainly on stories about Australia, or about Australian people in other countries...
magazine. Also in 2003, Tom and his truck, the Badger, were nominated South Australian icons by the National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
.
In 2008, bronze busts of Tom were placed in the National Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, National Motor Museum at Birdwood, at Waterloo (his birthplace), and at Birdsville and Marree.
Kruse died in Adelaide, aged 96, on 30 June 2011.