Bourke is a town in Northwestern New South Wales, about 140 km south of the Queensland border. It has a population of 1,699 (2021). This article also covers North Bourke, a smaller settlement a few kilometres to the north.
Understand
Back of Bourke is Australian slang for the middle of nowhere. If you head north west from Sydney you'll have no difficulty understanding the origins of the slang. However, Bourke is a service town for a large surrounding area.
Historically, Bourke is another remnant of the grand vision the Australian European pioneers had for opening up the inland of Australia. Bourke was even (briefly) an inland port on the Murray Darling, as steamer companies set up business along the Murray, shipping agricultural produce down to Adelaide. The steamer companies soon lost money because of snags, water levels, and the general lack of suitability of the Darling as an inland waterway for shipping. You can still see the wharf in Bourke.
Get in
Airlink fly to Bourke from Dubbo. Flights to Dubbo are available from Sydney and some other regional locations.
NSW Trainlink have a daily train service to Dubbo from Sydney connecting with a bus service to Bourke. The trip will take a full day's travel.
Get around
You can hire a car in Bourke, but none of the majors operate here.
See
Bourke is situated on the Darling River.
- Back O Bourke Exhibition Centre. Tourist info and Exhibition on the banks of the Darling.
- Back O' Bourke Gallery, 26 Darling St, North Bourke, -30.05152°, 145.952625°, +61 2 6872 4674. M–Sa 10:30AM–4PM (closed Sundays). A small art gallery established in 2006 with a lot of Outback-inspired pastel artworks, particularly of the Darling River. 2022-06-30
- Crossley Engine, 15 Mitchell St, -30.0880°, 145.9351°. One of the earliest oil-fuelled stationary engines that have ever been built. It was originally used for the Sydney Power House in the 1930s, but later generated electricity for Coffs Harbour's Allowrie Butter Factory in the 1940s. After 1949, the engine was moved to a property in Narromine, a town 40 km west of Dubbo and now has been brought to Bourke. 2022-06-30
- Gundabooka National Park, -30.509444°, 145.716389°. See some excellent preserve Indigenous petroglyphs in this national park. It's about 30 minutes south-southwest along the B87 Kidman Way which is sealed, but all of the park's roads are poorly maintained dirt roads. 2022-06-30
- Old Bourke Wharf, Sturt St, -30.087928°, 145.935469°. It used to be the largest port along the Darling River when it was built in the 1850s, but what you see today is only a replica of the original 1850s-built wharf. Today, as the Darling dries up, this replica only remains a museum piece. 2022-06-30
Do
Buy
Eat
Drink
Sleep
- Darling River Motel, 74 Mitchell St, -30.09°, 145.9446°, +61 2 6872 2288. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. 2021-07-03
- Major Mitchell Motel, 44 Mertin St, -30.09205°, 145.937694°, +61 2 6872 2311. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. 2021-07-03
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