Jul 19, 2026 · 41 min · 14 segments
Jill Colwell shares her incredible journey participating in the 1988 Great Australian Camel Race, her experiences with camels, and the lessons learned from this extraordinary adventure. Discover the…
Jill ColwellGuest
Terri CowleyHost
Recently, I was reviewing a children's book for issue 168 of Outback, and I came across an event that happened in 1988 called The Great Australian Camel Race.
The book is about a young woman named Jill Colwell and her camel Tiki and the incredible adventures and misadventures they had walking and riding all the way from Uluru to the Gold Coast.
A quick internet search showed Jill was now a GP working in Ipswich, so I just had to reach out.
I hope you enjoy this talk with Dr. Jill Colwell, who has the most vivid and precise memories of her great adventure with Tiki the camel.
1988 was a year of many, many events in Australia, even if today we view the bicentennial celebrations through a bit of a different lens than at the time.
One of those events, possibly one of the most harebrained when it was first thought of, was the Great Australian Camel Race, held between April 23 and July 16.
Split into six stages, from Uluru to Alice Springs, Boolia, Longreach, Charleville, Warwick and finally the Gold Coast, It covered more than 3,300 kilometres, making it the longest animal endurance race ever attempted.
Sixty-nine riders started and 41 physically made it across the finishing line, though only 28 officially placed.
Back then, Jill was a 33-year-old former jockey who thought riding a camel wouldn't be that different to getting on a horse, just higher.
Today, Jill is a medical doctor in Queensland who has just co-written a children's book about the race, bringing it to life for a whole new audience.
Recently, I was reviewing a children's book for issue 168 of Outback, and I came across an event that happened in 1988 called The Great Australian Camel Race.
The book is about a young woman named Jill Colwell and her camel Tiki and the incredible adventures and misadventures they had walking and riding all the way from Uluru to the Gold Coast.
A quick internet search showed Jill was now a GP working in Ipswich, so I just had to reach out.
I hope you enjoy this talk with Dr. Jill Colwell, who has the most vivid and precise memories of her great adventure with Tiki the camel.
1988 was a year of many, many events in Australia, even if today we view the bicentennial celebrations through a bit of a different lens than at the time.
One of those events, possibly one of the most harebrained when it was first thought of, was the Great Australian Camel Race, held between April 23 and July 16.
Split into six stages, from Uluru to Alice Springs, Boolia, Longreach, Charleville, Warwick and finally the Gold Coast, It covered more than 3,300 kilometres, making it the longest animal endurance race ever attempted.
Sixty-nine riders started and 41 physically made it across the finishing line, though only 28 officially placed.
Back then, Jill was a 33-year-old former jockey who thought riding a camel wouldn't be that different to getting on a horse, just higher.
Today, Jill is a medical doctor in Queensland who has just co-written a children's book about the race, bringing it to life for a whole new audience.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
