Bourke, New South Wales, Australia
Henry Lawson wrote in 1892 'If you know Bourke, you know Australia'.
I took the following from the tourism brochure and I think it is worth recording in the blog: Bourke is not merely a town but a region that is the start of Outback Australia. Anything to its west is referred to as the 'Back O' Bourke'. The term is etched deep in Australian language, meaning 'to be a long way from anything'. On the contrary, you may be far away from civilisation but the further out you go, the closer you get to the essence of this land. That is probably what Lawson was saying in the poem.
By the 1890's, Bourke was a major port for the transport of the South Queensland and North West NSW Wool clip, which was transported down the Darling to the Murray River and onto Adelaide, for ship transport overseas.The 'Port of Bourke' was the focus of the 'Worlds Wool Industry' with up to 80 riverboats servicing the region.The opening of the rail system in Australia and the unreliability of the river flow, saw the gradual demise of the 'River Highway' by the early 20th century.
When we arrived in Bourke on Wednesday, we organised our sightseeing for the next day. There are a number of tours that you can do and they are all organised through the 'Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre' which has the Visitor centre attached. The centre is run through the Bourke Council and there are different tour options. The price for each tour reduces, the more options you include in your package. Not that we were aware of this until later in the day! We had decided what we wanted to do and booked the tours accordingly.
Jandra Cruise: At 9.00am we did a cruise down the Darling River on the replica 'Jandra' paddle steamer, which is driven by a diesel motor. We drove out to North Bourke to board the vessel. Just as well the Council was operating the cruise, because there was no money made from the 9.00am one. We were the only two passengers, so we probably didn't even pay for the diesel, let alone wages for the Captain and his assistant, who sat down the bottom and did nothing for the whole cruise! But he did have to be there! I say "Just as well it is the Council operating the tourism venture as their aim would be to get tourists to the town of Bourke". The Council would be looking at the figures as a whole.
The cruise was quite good and as there was only the two of us we were able to ask as many questions of the Captain as we wanted. When we first set off, we thought he was going to be a 'real little corker' in Pete's terminology! But once he stopped talking as though it was a recording, he was good.
In 2006 new laws came into being re the management of the water in the Darling River and it has made a huge difference to the sustainability of the town. Once the river drops to 4.6 metres, no water can be taken from it for irrigation. Farmers in the region have been closed by the bank, big time! More of that later. The Darling has not flooded since 2012, so water levels are quite low and level one water restrictions were put in place, the day before we went on the cruise. The water level of the river was about 3.9 metres and it will drop an inch or 2 1/2 cms every day now, until it rains. There are two cruises each day on the Jandra, but as from next week, there will be no afternoon cruise and the morning cruise will only operate until the beginning of November. They will do Christmas party cruises.
The Captain told us the 'Darling River' is called the River of 'Threes'! The Namoi, Barwon and Bogan flow into the Darling near Bourke. It is a river that meanders so greatly, it travels 'Three' times the direct distance it traverses. The Darling does not flow very fast at all. The level of the land only drops 1 inch every 'Three' kilometres. The Darling is said to be the longest river in Australia if you take into account its adjoining tributaries. It is 2844 kms long. Twenty seven rivers flow into the Darling. I have also read that the 'Darling River' has been referred to as the 'Salt River' because of its salinity. It is being managed now.
The replica 'Jandra' vessel has a story as well. It was built by a citrus producer from Mildura, who decided to relocate to Bourke and grow citrus. He built a huge packing shed with the necessary refrigeration units etc. He built the replica 'Jandra' in this shed. He arranged to put it into the river in 2001, the day that the Olympic torch was in Bourke. He was afraid it would sink and decided the Bourke residents would be otherwise distracted on that particular day! Even though it was nearly double the weight he had planned it would be, its launch into the river went without a hitch. Following the reduction in irrigation allowances in 2006, this man at the age of 70 was sold up by the bank and lost everything, including the 'Jandra'. It was purchased by the Council.
The original bridge over the Darling River is very old and is curved at the end. When it was built it was too close to the 'North Bourke Hotel'. The publican said "He wasn't moving his pub"! So they curved the end of the bridge.
After our one hour cruise we travelled back to the 'Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre' for coffee and freshly baked scones in the cafe, before attending the second last show for 2014, of the 'Back O' Bourke Outback Show'. It was really great and Luke and his wife put on a really entertaining show with their horses, camels, clydesdales, dogs and bullocks. Luke also recited poetry, while he was encouraging the clydesdale to pull the log around the yard. She thought the load was too hard for her!
The last part of the show was to put the yokes on the 'Bullock Team' of six and work them. They loaded the log onto the dray. Whilst he was putting the yokes on the bullocks, Luke recited another poem. When we talked with him after the show he said "There are only three working bullock teams in Australia". Very special to see one of the teams working and even more so when it was at the 'Back O' Bourke'.
Bourke is making as much 'mileage' as it can from the renown poets, who have lived and travelled 'Outback Australia'! Like Henry Lawson. There is quite a bit of material in the Exhibition Centre that relates to the lives and work of these iconic gentlemen. Lots of information on the huge number of sheep that were grazed in the area as well, and the wool that was produced. The figures were huge. Something like over 200,000 sheep being shorn on one station. There was also a lot of material on the early explorers.
After lunch we went on 'The Tour of Bourke' with Stuart Johnson. Stuart has been running his Bourke tours for 19 years. There were only 4 of us on the tour and we all happened to be West Aussies and the other couple Ivan and Terry were from Leeman. When Peter spoke with Ivan later he told Peter "He used to have a farm at Cunderdin. Expanded to accommodate his sons and bought a farm at Coorow. He is no longer farming! They have rented their house in Leeman, the farm is leased and on the market, and they are off travelling". They were on their way to Moree to help take off the harvest, for a big farming enterprise there. 30,000 acres of crop and Terry will be cooking for 10. There was a bit more to the story and Peter was impressed with Ivan's honesty.
Stuart Johnson is very passionate about Bourke and when we first started, we found him a bit 'full on'! The only time he drew breath was when we didn't get his jokes! But as the day went on he actually started to talk differently. After three hours, the four of us felt we had been given a very good insight into what is happening in and around Bourke. And I have to say we were left wondering "What will be the future for Bourke"?
We visited the property of the fella that built the 'Jandra'. The fella that the bank has closed up on. He was growing citrus, melons, grapes etc. All the infrastructure has been pulled up. The citrus trees have not been watered for 18 months and they were loaded with fruit. Skin was thick and funny on them though. Fruit everywhere on the ground and it would make you cry really! They will be destroyed soon, so Stuart had some bags for us to pick oranges. "The property is going to have Damara sheep grazed on it" so Stuart said. The land has recently had a cotton crop on it, which then led to the discussion on whether cotton should be grown in the area and water from the Darling used for such a crop!
We were all unaware there is so much controversy over here on the growing of cotton. We had actually had a bit of a discussion on cotton with the Captain of the 'Jandra'. He had told us they have a new variety of cotton that only has to be watered a few times. Stuart says once a month, so that would be 6 times during the growing period and the irrigation would be for 8 hours each time. There is a cotton research station on the south side of Bourke. New GM varieties are meaning less spray is necessary to control pests and less water is needed to grow this natural fibre. But still communities do not believe the water from the Darling should be used for cotton. Even in Broken Hill we were told "They are taking all the water up there for their cotton"! Broken Hill also went on water restrictions last week.
Stuart took us to the 'Cotton Gin'. That was a real experience. Stuart had a video on his laptop showing how the cotton is handled and the process for cleaning, drying and pressing. Australian cotton is very good. The colour is excellent, but as to the future of being able to continue to grow it in Bourke, who knows? I wonder if there is such controversy in St George and Moree, where cotton is also grown?
Finally at the end of the day Peter and I went to find 'Fred Hollows' grave at the local cemetery. Fred started his eye work with the aboriginal community in Bourke during the 1970's and he and his wife made many friends in the area. It was his wish to be buried in the 'Outback' at Bourke. Stuart told us "Fred was lying under a huge rock under a few coolibah's". The grave was easy to find. Such wonderful research and work done by the man and the work continues in Bourke, through his foundation.
This is from the web: The sculpture captures Fred’s love of the outdoors and climbing, and its
polished surface brings to mind the tiny intraocular lenses that Fred was so determined to bring to the developing world. The Hollows family is happy for visitors to touch and feel the rock, to climb on it or sit peacefully and contemplate life.
We couldn't have wished for our visit to Bourke to have been anything different really. We had relaxing enjoyment with the 'Jandra' cruise and the 'Outback Show', mental stimulation with our town tour and more learning from the 'Exhibition Centre'. And then the honour of 'Visiting Fred'. The caravan park was very comfortable and we saw nothing with aboriginal behaviour, that would make you not want to visit and stay in the town. 14 photos
I took the following from the tourism brochure and I think it is worth recording in the blog: Bourke is not merely a town but a region that is the start of Outback Australia. Anything to its west is referred to as the 'Back O' Bourke'. The term is etched deep in Australian language, meaning 'to be a long way from anything'. On the contrary, you may be far away from civilisation but the further out you go, the closer you get to the essence of this land. That is probably what Lawson was saying in the poem.
By the 1890's, Bourke was a major port for the transport of the South Queensland and North West NSW Wool clip, which was transported down the Darling to the Murray River and onto Adelaide, for ship transport overseas.The 'Port of Bourke' was the focus of the 'Worlds Wool Industry' with up to 80 riverboats servicing the region.The opening of the rail system in Australia and the unreliability of the river flow, saw the gradual demise of the 'River Highway' by the early 20th century.
When we arrived in Bourke on Wednesday, we organised our sightseeing for the next day. There are a number of tours that you can do and they are all organised through the 'Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre' which has the Visitor centre attached. The centre is run through the Bourke Council and there are different tour options. The price for each tour reduces, the more options you include in your package. Not that we were aware of this until later in the day! We had decided what we wanted to do and booked the tours accordingly.
Jandra Cruise: At 9.00am we did a cruise down the Darling River on the replica 'Jandra' paddle steamer, which is driven by a diesel motor. We drove out to North Bourke to board the vessel. Just as well the Council was operating the cruise, because there was no money made from the 9.00am one. We were the only two passengers, so we probably didn't even pay for the diesel, let alone wages for the Captain and his assistant, who sat down the bottom and did nothing for the whole cruise! But he did have to be there! I say "Just as well it is the Council operating the tourism venture as their aim would be to get tourists to the town of Bourke". The Council would be looking at the figures as a whole.
The cruise was quite good and as there was only the two of us we were able to ask as many questions of the Captain as we wanted. When we first set off, we thought he was going to be a 'real little corker' in Pete's terminology! But once he stopped talking as though it was a recording, he was good.
In 2006 new laws came into being re the management of the water in the Darling River and it has made a huge difference to the sustainability of the town. Once the river drops to 4.6 metres, no water can be taken from it for irrigation. Farmers in the region have been closed by the bank, big time! More of that later. The Darling has not flooded since 2012, so water levels are quite low and level one water restrictions were put in place, the day before we went on the cruise. The water level of the river was about 3.9 metres and it will drop an inch or 2 1/2 cms every day now, until it rains. There are two cruises each day on the Jandra, but as from next week, there will be no afternoon cruise and the morning cruise will only operate until the beginning of November. They will do Christmas party cruises.
The Captain told us the 'Darling River' is called the River of 'Threes'! The Namoi, Barwon and Bogan flow into the Darling near Bourke. It is a river that meanders so greatly, it travels 'Three' times the direct distance it traverses. The Darling does not flow very fast at all. The level of the land only drops 1 inch every 'Three' kilometres. The Darling is said to be the longest river in Australia if you take into account its adjoining tributaries. It is 2844 kms long. Twenty seven rivers flow into the Darling. I have also read that the 'Darling River' has been referred to as the 'Salt River' because of its salinity. It is being managed now.
The replica 'Jandra' vessel has a story as well. It was built by a citrus producer from Mildura, who decided to relocate to Bourke and grow citrus. He built a huge packing shed with the necessary refrigeration units etc. He built the replica 'Jandra' in this shed. He arranged to put it into the river in 2001, the day that the Olympic torch was in Bourke. He was afraid it would sink and decided the Bourke residents would be otherwise distracted on that particular day! Even though it was nearly double the weight he had planned it would be, its launch into the river went without a hitch. Following the reduction in irrigation allowances in 2006, this man at the age of 70 was sold up by the bank and lost everything, including the 'Jandra'. It was purchased by the Council.
The original bridge over the Darling River is very old and is curved at the end. When it was built it was too close to the 'North Bourke Hotel'. The publican said "He wasn't moving his pub"! So they curved the end of the bridge.
After our one hour cruise we travelled back to the 'Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre' for coffee and freshly baked scones in the cafe, before attending the second last show for 2014, of the 'Back O' Bourke Outback Show'. It was really great and Luke and his wife put on a really entertaining show with their horses, camels, clydesdales, dogs and bullocks. Luke also recited poetry, while he was encouraging the clydesdale to pull the log around the yard. She thought the load was too hard for her!
The last part of the show was to put the yokes on the 'Bullock Team' of six and work them. They loaded the log onto the dray. Whilst he was putting the yokes on the bullocks, Luke recited another poem. When we talked with him after the show he said "There are only three working bullock teams in Australia". Very special to see one of the teams working and even more so when it was at the 'Back O' Bourke'.
Bourke is making as much 'mileage' as it can from the renown poets, who have lived and travelled 'Outback Australia'! Like Henry Lawson. There is quite a bit of material in the Exhibition Centre that relates to the lives and work of these iconic gentlemen. Lots of information on the huge number of sheep that were grazed in the area as well, and the wool that was produced. The figures were huge. Something like over 200,000 sheep being shorn on one station. There was also a lot of material on the early explorers.
After lunch we went on 'The Tour of Bourke' with Stuart Johnson. Stuart has been running his Bourke tours for 19 years. There were only 4 of us on the tour and we all happened to be West Aussies and the other couple Ivan and Terry were from Leeman. When Peter spoke with Ivan later he told Peter "He used to have a farm at Cunderdin. Expanded to accommodate his sons and bought a farm at Coorow. He is no longer farming! They have rented their house in Leeman, the farm is leased and on the market, and they are off travelling". They were on their way to Moree to help take off the harvest, for a big farming enterprise there. 30,000 acres of crop and Terry will be cooking for 10. There was a bit more to the story and Peter was impressed with Ivan's honesty.
Stuart Johnson is very passionate about Bourke and when we first started, we found him a bit 'full on'! The only time he drew breath was when we didn't get his jokes! But as the day went on he actually started to talk differently. After three hours, the four of us felt we had been given a very good insight into what is happening in and around Bourke. And I have to say we were left wondering "What will be the future for Bourke"?
We visited the property of the fella that built the 'Jandra'. The fella that the bank has closed up on. He was growing citrus, melons, grapes etc. All the infrastructure has been pulled up. The citrus trees have not been watered for 18 months and they were loaded with fruit. Skin was thick and funny on them though. Fruit everywhere on the ground and it would make you cry really! They will be destroyed soon, so Stuart had some bags for us to pick oranges. "The property is going to have Damara sheep grazed on it" so Stuart said. The land has recently had a cotton crop on it, which then led to the discussion on whether cotton should be grown in the area and water from the Darling used for such a crop!
We were all unaware there is so much controversy over here on the growing of cotton. We had actually had a bit of a discussion on cotton with the Captain of the 'Jandra'. He had told us they have a new variety of cotton that only has to be watered a few times. Stuart says once a month, so that would be 6 times during the growing period and the irrigation would be for 8 hours each time. There is a cotton research station on the south side of Bourke. New GM varieties are meaning less spray is necessary to control pests and less water is needed to grow this natural fibre. But still communities do not believe the water from the Darling should be used for cotton. Even in Broken Hill we were told "They are taking all the water up there for their cotton"! Broken Hill also went on water restrictions last week.
Stuart took us to the 'Cotton Gin'. That was a real experience. Stuart had a video on his laptop showing how the cotton is handled and the process for cleaning, drying and pressing. Australian cotton is very good. The colour is excellent, but as to the future of being able to continue to grow it in Bourke, who knows? I wonder if there is such controversy in St George and Moree, where cotton is also grown?
Finally at the end of the day Peter and I went to find 'Fred Hollows' grave at the local cemetery. Fred started his eye work with the aboriginal community in Bourke during the 1970's and he and his wife made many friends in the area. It was his wish to be buried in the 'Outback' at Bourke. Stuart told us "Fred was lying under a huge rock under a few coolibah's". The grave was easy to find. Such wonderful research and work done by the man and the work continues in Bourke, through his foundation.
This is from the web: The sculpture captures Fred’s love of the outdoors and climbing, and its
polished surface brings to mind the tiny intraocular lenses that Fred was so determined to bring to the developing world. The Hollows family is happy for visitors to touch and feel the rock, to climb on it or sit peacefully and contemplate life.
We couldn't have wished for our visit to Bourke to have been anything different really. We had relaxing enjoyment with the 'Jandra' cruise and the 'Outback Show', mental stimulation with our town tour and more learning from the 'Exhibition Centre'. And then the honour of 'Visiting Fred'. The caravan park was very comfortable and we saw nothing with aboriginal behaviour, that would make you not want to visit and stay in the town. 14 photos
2025-05-22