Oodnadatta Sports & Outdoors

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I guess the William Creek Gymkhana would qualify as a ‘sporting event’. It’s an annual fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and draws entrants and spectators from many hundreds of kilometers.

We drove down from Oodna with friends and camped nearby. Next morning, the day began with an auction of horses from Anna Creek Station (just for the day), with some quite big money changing hands for some. Then began a full day’s programme of events ranging from horse races to novelty events. We combined with our friends to ‘buy’ a horse and knew a stockman who offered to ride it for us – but before he could do so he had to break it in!

The whole weekend was one giant party, with plenty of beer and socialising. In the process, large amounts of money were raised for the Flying Doctors. The William Creek Gymkhana still continues to be held annually.