After the longest drive of our trip (616 km) we finally
reached Bourke at 3.30pm NSW time, once again having changed time zones. We
were in the car for eight hours and the boys again showed themselves to be
excellent car travellers. They read most of it and sometimes watch videos, but
they are quite used to the travel and know sometimes we have to do some long
days to get to our next stop.
Driving into Bourke was like driving into a ghost town, with
all the shops closed and not a pane of glass to be seen. These were covered up with pull down shutters.
There was nobody about, then I realised it was the weekend. Like most small country
towns, Bourke’s shops close after 12 noon on Saturdays. Also lots of tumble weed/spinifex been blown
across the road to add to the ghost town look.
The caravan park we are staying at has the most beautiful
green grass, something we haven’t seen for a while so we put to good use
playing cricket the days we were there. We took it pretty easy here as we’re all
feeling a little tired and Jacob was a little unwell. So we didn’t get the real
Bourke experience; for this you need to get out and about in the surrounding
countryside to explore the national parks and other natural features. Also, we
are now reaching maximum temperatures in the high 30’s and that is slowing us
down a little. There seems to be a mini heat wave going through outback NSW and
Queensland just now and there are some predictions of temperatures
approaching 40 degrees coming up.
When not relaxing at the park we spent our time checking out
the old buildings in town and the nearby surrounding area. Most of the
buildings in town date back to 1880’s. Bourke was settled along the Darling
River as an important inland port in the days when paddle steamers travelled
the Murray and Darling Rivers. We drove along the Darling River, on both sides,
and checked out the old wharf and where they used to ferry stock across. There
was also the remains of a paddle steamer, the P S Wave, which was stranded when
the Darling River receded. Not much left now but the rusted metal paddles. We
walked across the old North Bourke Bridge which was one of the few vertical
lift bridges ever built. A whole section of the bridge was able to be lifted up
in one piece to allow the paddle steamers to pass underneath. Amazing
technology for its time. There was also a lock and weir further down the river
to, first, control the flow of the river and then, to allow the boats to move
upstream to the changing level. Once again, quite an engineering feat for its
time.
Finally, we checked out Fred Hollows grave at the Bourke cemetery.
Fred Hollows was not born in Bourke, nor did he live there at any stage of his
life. However, he did a lot of work there and apparently felt a great affinity with
the area and the people and his request was to be buried there. There was a bit
of a story about his life and his work. A very impressive man.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpXQF8yGKnzNVyB5F9yRZIX_b-OONVMwn5-4EuBPcbAjjOqtcWMgPVY52_vPfxHzlSxKc9sj4s6kCGJWDP6j6F_JB8R3pRBnhkxM_Mwv8O1q4F9z3oZLdeL6-l9cJc7rOi4CiGUFyKMM/s320/P1040489.JPG) |
Not much more to say here |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6u7j2zn3Hn7rjAfI9pFLuo_xz3rSvjs34fz9wmGTD0CnMLZujxh0Ww3Rh1dBdXh1AcI8L4xwFP2_h3sTTBPbzWl2t8ABuS6HBYZAIJ6pxJUhH0LL6lGRTJqqBtVPv7BmC0kiG2plueJQ/s320/P1040542.JPG) |
Tumble weeds / spinifex blowing across the highway |
Some of the beautiful old buildings in Bourke![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifiFtp-FXyJbLBK5CxasziHUaZtlS5YQ5mhNBXTuGH5lLf7cBAHS2YpMJOoXteQLzorr1ZF8tTUzkSDKe_cU6MTivvgaeDIfiMhqlBUW78TKyXs9KcoOU6FQ-l2h4f-WFWuce4Wwp6Dk/s320/P1040529.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbKK97MtgBcDw2PetUo-Stcs4vFclTZC5QgsGWV5YD18cSeyQ3xXr4tpGZVm-MkSTFZZIhXTEwAR7u6n6vX_QCI9wrrHabu1jEBKnMLLjQZKYZJ_FebCWEJf7VTQ7r7TjI5b9ttDJNL0/s320/P1040534.JPG) |
Oldest standing building in Bourke. Western Herald Newspaper
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuQU8gNm87EdB4_zTJfCJIzDVCSuF3QkgHrkec6zFDhQzH_5EL4D-Y0ztqBc34m5KRCSy2DP9Qo42OSRECqX9EMbbN_28SUW4BRw-rdwgkxk-AMQHutttfPVbErC6tD7CnEx0gMA7rqs/s320/P1040515.JPG) |
Darling River |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfJrRsUxigWcsYxMMYt8cmkve5ATr2XVM28-NpjufxzshSaG0eXmnNz8H5zabD-75ww30izZSwuI3r6_vWxGwo8AsA2mfev-itaqh0Bl9d406-wJiHixAE7p9A198QGR-dRf0muGnk7o/s320/P1040519.JPG) |
North Bourke Bridge |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QSILiTjXGavplNidKWyLge9SOfeGXdwbGwUnsir6O7IrxdHYEGFsBdEbXiOwpaCd12cdv5LaGTppvR2s232JuGS8vFD8EySghPmIKLrCGzec7vOs8Y6VLLgojz3FC5MS9ujViHuHT5U/s320/P1040522.JPG) |
Replica of old wharf |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9tgsqg8pHtBw-x8Gcj1o5iIHG429qU55FR8ET_oiOD4dTRRcV-o3IoOIzoiwrx1f67YSjGpav98Z-ax3hyMYC6izpTDL90wxjkaEKlP6RczeTLIdtsLEIFUBjMHGXq-4V_rmaC1i6Bk/s320/P1040538.JPG) |
The lock and weir |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIClZw6p_BSYdks25I_y-PodXc-p2-s1MlaFNiJAcXH6snbMErLsHi_F4M9EgS_P3ZZmKmk3312q1QQlRF9EVOLA8gsrZwWx56hq-jsOG2TKiv1uGwlrBxnayH7Syo9_VYhyeGYrj_I0/s320/P1040539.JPG) |
A spectator in the stands at the locl showgrounds |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarqQQVKTzu1bXtOl6ZDgYFLorCdXCAHEDWVU7eLyxHmRHLlXMN-8zjDIijsDNm0qO8ivwdA0TYX9gQ7joMoa9_eWufmli9X5tEJ5QSIUp5Us_DwvbCRs6yMmJpVUl9ZWi0rBELBmY_fA/s320/P1040486.JPG) |
Doug's collection of stubbie coolers, so far .... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8MkfBmtCWg5i1q_ETExyNvwj7E50QYcIx_tCGhPkvjZfp0XXs7a8WT3LBCYLvVQgnRUZm8xP4JTdz25BBf8L9jJcUnf1RQKzdyaFIUkIaNYXEPcACsT7OChyphenhyphen7UNMNLhyphenhyphenjV6N8FGVCVU/s320/P1040495.JPG) |
At the caravan park |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNjcyxEfIUoStv7WGoaYTuQh07Ar9uQSfJ6iVSzXItu_QHCrNRdKaQw65DpegYg7Agia9rWmTUcEOhyLKXKHHG9l2L1XnIz6bpWmGRRJL63z1gOvAYGAKMf39XPd82ywiGHZLZltIrvc/s320/P1040499.JPG) |
Jacob getting some coaching from a has been who never was |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEA_VgLyngB0P5b4NmwVYj7pmpJVcJf7uKj8pOkKtYRfVjWtle8rxFiwCQGXMC_B3AjmmVh0TjCNJS-7vbzTSYAnQtZ7XVC11X2RvBmjMfAu9UEm2FyBq0Dkn2Lyimr1sfF60VADS-ROU/s320/P1040502.JPG) |
Is this what they mean by "throwing the bat" |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_pUO4jT12ggkDpcMfKqVEAjPQsBNMmXUpUL5ybKtBWvKV9sQvCoYR_daXsks6rHmtiSFHKKEKC6ZM72az2KIlUhPcIoV5R9AvciuP9AfA2xew4ye-o6uVjLIJsIvxo0eXtC3CRZZjzU/s320/Nate+crickey.jpg) |
Good action. Maybe we'll have a cricketer in the family yet |
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