Legendary Outback mailman passes on

The famous Leyland Badger, which Tom used to deliver the mail from 1936 until it broke down in 1957, is one of the most popular attractions at the National Motor Museum.

Museum Director Marianne Norman says that people from all around the country visit the National Motor Museum to see this truck and to learn more about the legendary 'Mailman of the Outback'. 'So many people know and love the story of Tom Kruse,' she says. 'He is probably Australia's most famous mail man.' Kruse delivered the mail and supplies every fortnight to stations between Marree and Birdsville. Tom coaxed the Badger through some of Australia's most difficult terrain, including sandhills and desert, but when Cooper Creek was in flood, as it is today, it was close to impossible to pass.

This Tom Kruse was also a film star - he and his wife Valma were the subject of John Heyer's 1954 prize-winning film The Back of Beyond, and he featured in a film about the restoration of the Badger, and its commemorative mail run in 1999.

Tom Kruse was awarded an MBE in 1955 for services to the community in the outback.