Thursday, 6th June ~ Bourke, NSW

Thursday, 6th June ~ Happy Queensland Day !

Bourke (pop. 2,145 - approx. 33% Indigenous) "Gateway to the Real Outback" !

It has 40 police in the town! And I just read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, that states Bourke tops the list "more dangerous than any country (town) in the world  ... mmm.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/bourke-tops-list-more-dangerous-than-any-country-in-the-world-20130201-2dq3y.html


We're staying in Kidmans Camp (where we stayed during our 2012 trip). I'm happy to say that it's a very relaxed atmosphere.

 

with a couple of walks around the property as well as good bird watching (of course). The PV Jandra operates on the Darling River, just a short walk from Kidmans Camp.

 

 

 Something to do with those horseshoes you have hanging around the place.

 

 

The amenities need a little work though ...

Cook on duty (again)

One of the not-so-friendly encounters
(scorpion trying to wear my shoes !)

Here's a couple of snoozy types

so relaxed here at Kidmans Camp, you can snooze the day away.

Tawny Frogmouth













While out bird watching we came across a flock (300 plus) of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos .. whoop whoop de whoop !

 

 

 

A little bit of history:  In 1892 young writer Henry Lawson was sent to Bourke by Bulletin editor to get a taste of outback life and to try to curb his heavy drinking. In Lawson's own words "I got £5 and a railway ticket from the Bulletin and went to Bourke. Painted, picked up in a shearing shed and swagged it for six months". The experience was to have a profound effect on the 25 year old and his encounter with the harsh realities of bush life inspired much of his subsequent work. Lawson would later write "if you know Bourke you know Australia".

Fred Hollows, the famous eye surgeon, was buried in Bourke after his death in 1993. He had worked in Bourke in the early 1970s and had asked to be buried there.