On the edge of the Simpson Desert sits a small police station, aptly painted blue and white.
For the last decade the station and its adjoining house in Birdsville, in Outback Queensland, have been home to Senior Constable Stephan Pursell.
The 59-year-old is the lone officer in charge of a patch as big as the United Kingdom, much of it the harsh and unforgiving desert.
“It’s been described as the loneliest job in the world,” Sen Const Pursell told AAP.
“(But) there’s always different people coming and going, you never know who’s going to be in town.
“Yes, it’s a massive area, but I’ve never felt alone at all.”
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Twice a year Sen Const Pursell is joined by colleagues from Mount Isa to manage the Birdsville Races and the Big Red Bash music festival.
Each event brings thousands of people to a town that is usually home to about 110.
Before taking the Outback post, the experienced officer saw old footage of race-goers piling up empty beer cans outside the pub and jumping off the roof.
“It looked like a good party, but there were a lot of laws being broken,” he said, wryly.
He was worried about what might greet him at his first races, but locals and business owners have worked together to change things.
“It’s quite a nice event today and I’ve enjoyed every one of them.”
The 2024 Birdsville Races, which were held earlier this month, were Sen Const Pursell’s last.
He and his wife plan to retire to the Sunshine Coast in May, close to their three grandchildren.
Sen Const Pursell looks back with pride on some weird and wonderful jobs, like the time he tracked down the owner of a wedding ring found in the middle of the desert.
While the case of a woman who fell seriously ill while travelling through the outback is one he will never forget because her misfortune led to improved safety.
The woman was successfully retrieved, despite not being able to describe her exact location.
“We could have potentially missed that person by a long way and that may have been life or death,” he said.
After that incident, authorities installed location markers every five kilometres along the 164km sand track outside Birdsville.
“That has worked a number of times for us, being able to find people straight away.”
Having always wanted to be a country cop just like his dad, leaving town will be bittersweet.
“I don’t really want to leave here, I love the town, enjoy the job, there’s amazing people,” he said.
“They’re extra ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
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