Bourke
Wednesday
After stocking our little esky and collecting the key from the tourist office we drove out the Louth road to the Fort Bourke Stockade The Fort Bourke Stockade is a re-creation of the stockade built by Major Thomas Mitchell as a depot and point of defence. It was the first and only fort erected by explorers in Australia. From here the first European craft were launched but the river wasn’t deep enough so the party returned to the fort and made their way to Menindee on horseback. The track passes beside a particularly beautiful wetland alive with birds. The replica fort is little more than a few logs near the river.
On the way back to town we stopped in at the local cemetery to visit the grave of Fred Hollows who was much-loved here for his generosity.
Returning to town we took a walk down the Main Street which looks much smarter than when my parents lived here 40 years ago. They lived in the Post Office, one of the many lovely historic buildings in the town. If you are interested it an Escape from the City experience the guest house, bottom left is up for sale! I only ever visited at Xmas time when the weather was so hot and there was nothing happening in the streets except lots of drunken brawls. It is one of the few rural towns we have visited that has a positive feel about it.
Before heading back to Kidman Camp we checked out the Bourke Wharf which is a replica of the original and has lovely views up the river.
The journey to our next destination was our first extended drive on unsealed roads. We didn’t encounter any problems but we were certainly pleased that we had put our floor mat between the screen and the door. When we arrived at Rose Isle station the back of the van was coated in red dust, which rained down on us when we put the awning out. Fortunately the interior was almost dust free!
We started our day with a peaceful hour cruising the Darling on board the PV Jandra. The original Jandra was a paddle steamer built in 1894 which was used to transport provisions, materials, mail, wool etc, up and down the Darling. The current vessel was built in 2000 for tourism. Apparently last years season was non-existent due to a lack of water in the river. The cruise took us under the North Bourke Bridge which was opened in May 1883 and is Australia’s oldest movable span bridge. All the parts were built overseas and transported by paddlesteamer. Understandably, seeing the timbers from below, it is no longer in use.
After stocking our little esky and collecting the key from the tourist office we drove out the Louth road to the Fort Bourke Stockade The Fort Bourke Stockade is a re-creation of the stockade built by Major Thomas Mitchell as a depot and point of defence. It was the first and only fort erected by explorers in Australia. From here the first European craft were launched but the river wasn’t deep enough so the party returned to the fort and made their way to Menindee on horseback. The track passes beside a particularly beautiful wetland alive with birds. The replica fort is little more than a few logs near the river.
We found a lovely spot by the lake to have our picnic and spot a few birds. As per the norm the first bird to greet us was a Willy Wagtail but we soon found both Spoonbills, Sacred Kingfisher, some interesting Fairy Martin nests and our first Mallee Ringneck, amongst others.
On the way back to town we stopped in at the local cemetery to visit the grave of Fred Hollows who was much-loved here for his generosity.
Returning to town we took a walk down the Main Street which looks much smarter than when my parents lived here 40 years ago. They lived in the Post Office, one of the many lovely historic buildings in the town. If you are interested it an Escape from the City experience the guest house, bottom left is up for sale! I only ever visited at Xmas time when the weather was so hot and there was nothing happening in the streets except lots of drunken brawls. It is one of the few rural towns we have visited that has a positive feel about it.
Before heading back to Kidman Camp we checked out the Bourke Wharf which is a replica of the original and has lovely views up the river.
Thursday
Before leaving town we visited the Back’o Bourke Exhibition. It has an interactive journey through the early exploration, the riverboat era, the pastoral industry, the poets, the bushrangers, the conflicts and the legends. It is an excellent centre which traces Bourke’s history from its Indigenous beginnings, European settlement and our outback characters. The stories of a variety of Australians are told including Charles Sturt & Major Mitchell, Charles Bean, Henry Lawson, Captain Starlight, Breaker Morant, Barefoot Harry, Aboriginal Tracker Frank Williams as well as many wonderful women of the west, such as Nancy Bird Walton.
The amphitheatre is currently undergoing refurbishment and when completed it will have an entertainment space as well as a cafe. It is certainly worth spending an hour or two there.
Below: Tumbling Tommy plough, the Murray Darling flag and Dance of the Echidna
The journey to our next destination was our first extended drive on unsealed roads. We didn’t encounter any problems but we were certainly pleased that we had put our floor mat between the screen and the door. When we arrived at Rose Isle station the back of the van was coated in red dust, which rained down on us when we put the awning out. Fortunately the interior was almost dust free!
We were delighted to discover that tonight was one of the nights that Sam, our host, cooked dinner. A choice of soup, three mains and dessert....Michael was very pleased to have his first pudding in a week.
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