HISTORY

1936 - The Leyland Badger was built in England and bought new by Harry Ding from the CMV Group in Adelaide for outback mail and freight haulage.

1939 - adapted by Harry Ding to suit Birdsville track conditions with Thornycroft rear axles and a transmission salvaged after a Thornycroft carrying a load of wool crashed at Carrieton in SA.

1942 - Tom Kruse and the Badger 'took on' the Birdsville Track.

1948 - Tom discarded the Leyland chassis and replaced it with another of his own design using rolled steel joists (RSJs). He made it by hand at the Lelliot Brothers workshop in Port Adelaide.

1949 - Tom bought the Badger from Harry on October 28th 1949.

1953 - along with Tom the Badger became the subject of John Heyer's important docu drama The Back of Beyond produced by the Shell Film Unit. The Back of Beyond was released in 1954.

1958 - after 22 hard years, a major breakdown forced Tom to abandon the Badger at Gilpininna Dam on Pandie Pandie Station near Birdsville in Queensland.

1986 - the Jubilee Mail Run Re-enactment Group went to the site and recovered a Leyland Cub and prepared the Badger for recovery to Birdsville.

1993 - the Badger was transported to Copley in SA by a team lead by Peter Ware.

1994 - then to Gillman at Port Adelaide by Neil Mansell Transport.

1996 - In March the Badger was transported to Northfield by John Clifton for restoration by Neil Weidenbach and his team. The site is the former Northfield aerodrome where Ross and Keith Smith completed their historic flight from England in April 1920.

1999 - On Monday August 2nd the first official 'road test' of the completely restored Badger was conducted by Tom Kruse.

After being low-loaded to Birdsville, on Saturday 2nd October the Badger departs Birdsville for The Mail Truck's Last Run.

On Sunday 10th October the Badger arrives at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood and is received into the Museum by the Governor of South Australia, Sir Eric Neal.

2000 - Tom and the Badger are transported interstate to attend the National 4x4 Show in Melbourne.

2002 - From July 4th - 7th, Tom and the Badger participate in The Legends of Outback Transport at Arkaroola in the Flinders Ranges.

2003 - Tom and the Badger are named South Australian Icons by The National Trust.

2004 - On Saturday July 24th, the Badger is low-loaded to Marree by the CMV Group as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the first
screening of The Back of Beyond in the Marree Town Hall.

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