Page 24 - The Outdoor Showman October - December 2025

CIRCUS NEWS
Outback ringmaster Fred Brophy takes his
boxing tent to Birdsville for last time
Not everyone has heard of Fred
Brophy’s Boxing Troupe, but for
those who have, it’s an institution.
He’ll sell you a ticket, spin you a
yarn and dare you into the ring.
For more than four decades, fourth-
generation showman Fred Brophy
has been carting his boxing tent
and fighters to Birdsville, one of the
most remote towns in the country,
as part of its annual races.
But this year’s event, marked the
last time he would bring his tent.
Final showdown
In his signature red shirt, on the
edge of the Simpson Desert, he
stands on a raised platform, beating
a bass drum with ritual certainty.
“Who wants a fight,” he spruiks.
Courageous punters throw up their
hands and a bell clangs as they’re chosen.
It’s part circus, part showdown, part
spectacle — but now these boxing
bells have tolled for the last time.
“There comes a time when
enough’s enough,” Brophy said.
“I’m 73, when I’m getting up on that
ladder, I can’t do it like I used to.”
Brophy said he was cutting back on
shows and did not take his tent to
New South Wales or Victoria anymore
because of government regulations.
But as long as he could get up the ladder,
he said he would keep entertaining.
“I’m lucky like a cat, I’ve got nine lives.”
Boxing in Birdsville
The Birdsville Races have attracted
crowds of thousands to the far south-
west of Queensland for 143 years.
For about 42 of those, Brophy has
pitched his tent across from the pub.
Henry Butler grew up in Birdsville,
and the 25-year-old Wangkangurru
man remembers how it felt as a kid
watching the town of 100 explode.
At a young age, he fell in love with
the spectacle of the boxing tent.
“We used to sneak over and
listen to the drum, watch all the
fighters pop up,” he said.
“One time, I think I was around
10, Fred looked at us and said,
‘I reckon these two young fellas
should get up and have a fight’.”
Henry and his cousin had a crack
on the mats and made $600 from
the crowd throwing in coins.
“It’s something I never
forgot,” Henry said.
Henry was sent to boarding school
more than 1,000 kilometres away
in Yeppoon, so it was years before
he made it back to Brophy’s.
“Every year Freddie was like,
‘It’s going to be my last year
[in Birdsville],’ Henry said.
“That went on for a few
years,” he laughed.
Last year, Henry donned the
robes for Brophy and this year
he stepped into the ring for a
final fight in his home town.
“It’s one of the best
experiences I’ve ever had.
“The main reason I love it is the
atmosphere: the crowds, everyone is
singing along, getting along, having a
beer together and then they jump in
the ring, but after everyone is having
a beer and a good yarn together.”
End of an era
Gary Brook’s family owns a large
cattle station near Birdsville and
runs the town’s annual races.
Mr Brook, 44, has not
missed a single year.
“I’ve never looked out from the pub and
not seen his [Brophy’s] tent,” he said.
“It’s going to be a strange
feeling in years to come.
But even if the tent never returns,
Brophy himself won’t be staying away.
Wedding wager on Birdsville Cup win
A man and woman smiling in front
of a famous troupe poster.
A history-making Birdsville Races
sees record prize money up for
grabs, and potentially the end
of a lengthy marital wager.
“I want to come back and see what
they’re going to do here and be able
to relax … without worrying about the
tent getting blown down in the wind.”
And of course, there’s the long-standing
wager with his partner Sandy that
she’ll marry him if he either gives up
drinking or wins a Birdsville Cup.
Although a celebrant was on hand, his
horse Victory Bay didn’t win this year, but
maybe next year he’ll have more luck.
“It’s the biggest and the best event that
happens in the outback,” Brophy said.
It seems the tent stands only while
Brophy does, and when he hangs up the
gloves, the last boxing tent of its kind
in Australia will stay down for good.
22 THE OUTDOOR SHOWMAN