Bourke
"if you know Bourke, you know Australia" so wrote the famous Australian poet Henry Lawson in 1882. Set beautifully on the Darling River, Bourke is not merely a town but a region of that is the figurative demarcation between Outback Australia and the east. Anything to the west is colloquially referred to as the 'Back o Bourke', a term etched deeply in the Australian psyche alluding that Outback Australia is a long way away from anything. On the contrary, it may be a distance from 'civilisation' but the further out you go the closer you get to the essence of this country. Maybe it is that paradigm Lawson was referring.
About Bourke:
Originally named Prattenville, Bourke was first 'settled' in the late 1820's and its name was changed to Bourke, in honour of Governor Richard Bourke of New South Wales, in the 1830s.
By the 1890's, Bourke was a major port for the transport of the southern Queensland and northern NSW wool clip which required transportation down the Darling River to the Murray River and onto Adelaide, or up the Murray to Echuca for rail transport to Melbourne, for shipping overseas.
The Port of Bourke was the focus of the world's wool industry with up to 80 riverboats servicing the region and at one time it was one of the largest in the world.
The opening of the rail system to outback Australia and the unreliability of the river flow resulted in the gradual demise of the 'river highway' by the early 20th century. This by no means spelt the end of Bourke and today it is still, in essence, the same it was back then; a town on the edge of the wilderness with great historical, cultural and geographic significance.
Located where the Kidman Way meets the Darling River, it is a town firmly etched in Australian folklore and is the ideal access point for The Darling River Run. Bourke provides a true outback experience to all who visit Bourke.
The recently (re)opened 'Back of Bourke' Centre has been redeveloped as a world class facility nestled in a spectacular natural setting amongst the river red gums on the banks of the Darling River.
Bourke Visitor Information:
Visitor Information Centre:Kidman Way Bourke 2840 Telephone: 02 6872 1321 |
Must See - Must Do:
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