Bourke

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Bourke is the last town we will visit in NSW before we cross the border into Queensland. It appears to be a big town but does not boast a great deal in the way of its shopping precinct. We arrived late Saturday morning, stopping first to refill a gas bottle as we came into town. It was not surprising to find most of the retail outlets had already closed or were about to. What struck us though was all of the roller shutters over windows; there were only a few shops without them. John wanted to buy some of his favourite brew (not easily available in Victoria) and as we approached the drive through bottle shop noticed that all the stock and the attendant was behind a substantial wire cage – there was a small gap in the steel through which you paid for your purchase. There was also a tall steel frame fence around the supermarket car park. Sad to see.



What the town does have though, is plenty of parkland and they look to be well maintained. We made our way down to the wharf – actually, turns out it is a replica of the original one. A lot of beautification works taking place down there in the form of pathways and lawn area. The steps down below the upper platform were a bit rickety but they allowed us to see the underneath structure.

We are staying in a caravan park at the moment – Kidman’s Camp – which gives us a chance to catch up on some washing! It is located about 8kms north of the town and has capacity for 90 powered sites …. By 3 o’clock it was full.



From within the camp ground we could make our way down to the Darling Riverwhere the Paddle Boat “Jandra” is moored. She was commissioned in 2002 and is the only boat to operate on this part of the river for over 60 years.



The Darling River plays a significant part of The Inland River Flow running from just inside the NSW/Qld border down to Menindee Lakes nr Broken Hill (NSW) and then onto Wentworth (NSW) where she joins the Murray River. It has a very large catchment area and many tributaries.



A quotation on the wall at the Back ‘O Bourke Centre reads: “I rise in the drought from the Queensland rain, I fill my branches again and again. I hold my billabongs back in vain, for my life and my people’s the south seas drain; and the land grows old and the people never will see the worth of theDarling River.”



For quite some time during recent severe droughts and because of over use it became (in places) quite dry. Levels are still low, but it is wonderful to see the waterway running again.



Covid rules and border requirements for Queensland have changed since we obtained our entry permit on 13^th June, so we have now reapplied and received a new permit – fingers crossed it is still valid in a couple of days!

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