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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-06 Daily Xml
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KRUSE, MR E.G. (TOM)

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:23): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house about the funeral arrangements for Tom Kruse, the legend of the outback?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (15:23): Madam Speaker, it was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Tom Kruse last week at the age of 96. I am sure that I speak for all members of the house in saying so. I asked the state government's protocol department to offer their assistance to the Kruse family in relation to the arrangements for tomorrow's funeral. The funeral will be held at 2.30pm tomorrow at the Panasonic Pavilion at the Morphettville Racecourse. It is expected that more than 600 people will attend the service, and the public are welcome to join the commemorations for this outback legend.

Tom was an absolute icon of our state. When you think about the story of South Australia and the people who helped shape the outback, Tom Kruse's name comes up time and time again. Tom was the sort of character you could not invent, travelling across the harsh terrain in his Leyland Badger delivering mail, fuel, supplies and even medicine along the Birdsville Track. His trips would take a fortnight, and he would regularly have to deal with floods and breakdowns as he carried out his work to help ease the isolation of living in the outback.

Tom's legendary work became famous thanks to the 1954 documentary Back of Beyond and, as a result, Tom became a national icon. He was awarded an MBE in 1955 and later inducted into the National Transport Hall of Fame, named an outback legend by Australian Geographic and nominated as a South Australian icon by the National Trust.

Even though he retired to Adelaide in 1984, his links and passion for the outback remained strong. He went on to do several re-enactments of his mail run, helping to raise money for that other outback icon, the Royal Flying Doctor Service. I look forward to attending tomorrow's funeral, as I know will other members of this house, to celebrate the life of a man whose own story helps tell the story of the development of South Australia and the spirit which built this great state.

The government has agreed to allocate time for a condolence motion for Tom Kruse because a number of members, including me, as I said, will be attending the funeral tomorrow. A condolence motion will be held on the following day of sitting to enable those members to participate. I want to thank the honourable member for Stuart for his assistance the other day.

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