One of Australia's most remotely stationed police officers is set to retire after almost a decade posted in an isolated town in far south-west Queensland.

The Birdsville post has one of the harshest climates in the country and a jurisdiction roughly the size of the United Kingdom, which includes the Simpson Desert.

Like other Queensland Police Service officers, Senior Constable Neale McShane will be forced to retire when he turns 60 later this year.

His policing career spans more than 40 years and includes time spent as a police prosecutor in other regions.

Now, the search for his replacement is on.

"I've done 10 years and that's not a bad stint and, probably, it is time to move on and let a younger person take over," Senior Constable McShane said.

"I enjoy the work but there comes a time for all of us to move on I suppose."

Senior Constable Neale McShane's jurisdiction is about the size of the United Kingdom. ( ABC News: Josh Bavas )

The last arrest was four years ago and was only for a minor offence at the annual Birdsville Races.

"He was advised to go home and he decided not to and he was arrested," Senior Constable McShane said.

"Occasionally you get offences of a minor nature but because of the remote area you don't get people to come here to steal or cause trouble because they stick out so much; they probably stick to places like Surfers Paradise."

Senior Constable McShane said despite the town's quiet nature he could not afford to be complacent.

"[Just] because it's a remote area doesn't mean there's going to be no crime here and there could be serious crime here, just look at the Peter Falconio murder in the Northern Territory," he said.

"So you're always on the look out for suspicious people coming to town or passing through."

Birdsville's only park ranger and traditional owner Don Rowlands said Senior Constable McShane would be sorely missed.

"When he's out there, he does his job that you wouldn't believe," he said.

"He's been a real good back-up for me and I for him I guess.

"It'll be sad because he knows the country and he knows how to drive in the terrain.

"The new fella, I suppose I'll have to go teach him all the ropes."

Constable calls on help for Simpson Desert rescues

A lot of Senior Constable McShane's work involves preparing tourists for travelling through the Simpson Desert.

Temperatures in the desert can reach above 50 degrees Celsius and the park is closed during summer as a result.

But despite best laid efforts, things do go wrong and Senior Constable McShane is called upon for about five desert rescues a year.

Senior Constable Neale McShane is called upon to assist in about five rescues in the Simpson Desert every year. ( Supplied: Hugh Brown )

He relies on the support of the town mechanic and the ambulance officer when things go wrong.

"Whatever assistance you need they usually give because obviously [in] a single officer station you can't do it all yourself," Senior Constable McShane said.

In 2009, he received a distress call from a driver who rolled his car on a sand dune in the middle of a dust storm about 170 kilometres from Birdsville.

He said it was a long drive but the man was rescued.

"You went over some sand-hills and you couldn't see in front of you. It took us ages and ages to get there ... and apart from a bump on the head, he wasn't too bad," Senior Constable McShane said.

Another one of his daily chores is checking the official temperature gauge for the Bureau of Meteorology.

The police station also hosts a number of monitoring systems including a Dust Watch device, locust early warning system, tectonic plate monitor for Geoscience Australia, CSIRO ozone monitor and a set-up which measures the durability of roofing and fencing in the harsh outback sun.