In 1970, Noel Fullerton challenged fellow Lions Club member, Keith Mooney-Smith in a letter to the editor in the local paper to settle a bet. Two men racing on camels down the dried bed of Todd River proved too hilarious to pass up again, so the Lion's Club made it an annual event, turning it into a 44-year fundraiser for local charities.
Alice Springs is a small funky town in the middle of the Red Centre. Founded in the mid-19th century by telegraph station workers who came upon the Todd River while they were stringing cable for the cross-continental telegraph line. They thought they had discovered an oasis, in what is a hot, arid, and very red desert region of central Australia, and after settling in that they discover that the river is more often dry than flowing. Hence, the town at the time consisted of only a few huts surrounding a switching station near a dusty riverbed.
The town didn't really boom until 1887 when gold was discovered and Alice Springs grew. It's remained small for the entirety of its existence, never rising above 30,000 residents. And with hot winds and little water, the best mode of transportation is considerably the camel.
The first camels were shipped to Australia in 1840 and breeding camel farms began cropping up in the 1860s. The country, which then was still colonized by the Brits, brought over camels and immigrants from the Pathan tribes of present-day Pakistan, then known as British India.
The Camel Cup, known formally and officially as the "Lasseters' Camel Cup" always takes place on the second Saturday in July, with Blatherskite Park opening at 10:30 am before the parade of camels and their jockeys. Then it's a series of races between noon and 4pm.
Events include traditional man-on-camel races, rickshaw races where two people sit while the rickshaw is pulled by two other people, children's races, the "Honeymoon Handicap" wherein the rider has to pick his wife up along the race course, and assorted interstitial events like belly-dancing to keep the attendees and spectating travelers entertained. Add food stalls, a weekend day with families and it all has the feeling of a county fair.
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