Heat, booze has outback town on the boil

With the pub closed, it was a long trek for a refreshing cold one

BOULIA, Australia (CNN) -- Searing temperatures and tempers have collided in an outback Australian town, erupting in an extraordinary all-in brawl that closed the only pub within hundreds of kilometers.

About 100 residents of the tiny 300-strong western Queensland town of Boulia exchanged blows in an almighty freewheeling fight sparked by a family feud, fuelled by alcohol and blamed on the hot sun.

Residents of the town were seeking relief from a sweltering 44-degree (Celsius) scorcher, 'whetting their whistle' at the local pub, the Australian Hotel.

However, Boulia's police force -- one male and one female officer -- were called to the hotel after a spat between two drinkers caused tempers to overheat.

By the time police arrived, brawlers were spread from "one end of the block to the other," Sergeant Duane Frank told the Courier Mail newspaper.

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Unable to stop the mayhem, Frank and his partner were forced to wait hours for police back-up to arrive from the 'nearby' towns of Dajarra, Mt Isa and Bedourie -- hundreds of kilometers away.

Using capsicum spray, police finally managed to put a stop to the fight and disarm several locals who were carrying baseball bats.

"It was a thirsty day," Franks said in the Courier Mail report.

"Normally, in my experience we blame things on the full moon, I'm not sure we can reverse that and blame it on the full sun."

At the request of police, the town's pub was closed for two days.

The brawl was apparently the result of a long-running feud between two local families.

Although no arrests were made on the night, police were processing a "mountain" of paperwork and to date had charged 16 people with a total of 24 offences.