Back O ' Bourke

The road to Walgett

Made it to Bourke

Back down the highway we went to Walgett. The road was lined with that yellow weed making a spectacular show. Nothing had changed in Walgett, no reason to stop other than a coffee at the little gift shop, so we turned right and headed for Bourke, where we expected to find a town, well, much the same as Walgett! For so many years there has been so much Aboriginal strife in Bourke, including a riot back in the '70's, when the cops were barricaded in their Police Station waiting for reinforcements to arrive!! Since starting our travels, we had read some good reports from caravanners about Bourke, so it was time to see for ourselves.

Lovely Kidman's Camp

The Old Bourke Bridge

We decided to stay a little out of Bourke, around 5kms north, at a place called Kidman's Camp. It gets excellent reviews from all who stay, and we can understand why. It is situated on the Darling River, which is just a short walk away. We were allocated a huge grassy site, and quickly settled in. We are pretty quick at it these days! Every night, the caravan park would fill up, mostly with travellers on their way south after their winter migration. We studied all of the tourist information we were given on checking in, and were just amazed at how much history there was in the region, and how much there was to do. Our three day stay was looking like five!! We headed into town to pick up a few supplies at the IGA Supermarket. The security guard inside the door, indicated that all still may not be rosy with the local indigenous folks, who were sitting around in the car park and streets in large numbers. With security roaming the aisles, we ventured into the Liquor Store section of the shop, where security went to a whole new level!! All the stock was laid out as normal, but between you and the stock was a floor to ceiling wall of glass!! At one end of the wall is a two way trap door through which the purchases are passed when the money has changed hands!!! Never seen anything like it!!

Pelicans on the Darling River

Crossley Steam Engine

On our first full day we walked down to the Darling River to take a cruise on the PV Jandra, a replica paddle boat, built by a local, several years ago. There is an incredible amount of Paddle Steamer history in Bourke. Back in the late 1800's they plied there trade, carrying mostly wool, down the river to the Murray & beyond. The Darling is a muddy old river but is flowing at present. Hard to imagine this is Bourke's water supply!! The weir at Bourke, and the adjoining Lock, were the first to be built on any Australian inland River. I was amazed to learn, that at their peak, there were over 300 Paddle Steamers working on the Darling & Murray rivers. We spent a lazy hour & a half cruising down a section of the river, with two real characters as Captain & First Mate. There were only 6 of us on the morning cruise, so we got very personalised treatment. Lined by huge Red River gums full of dead branches from past floods, we were surprised to see how many pelicans were on the river, with the Captain remarking that only a couple of weeks earlier there had been hundreds!

Little Birdy Cafe

The PV Jandra

After the cruise we headed into town to see the Wharf Precinct, and to sample a coffee at Little Birdy, the cafe that the crew had told us was the best coffee in town. It was excellent, as were the cakes and cookies they made. We also noted a sign advising that they were having their first Tapas night of the season, with live music, the next night. We decided to give it a go, and put our names on the list. After coffee, we were in time to watch the daily starting of the Crossley Steam Engines, that happens every day at noon, down at the town wharf. There are two engines, magnificently restored and converted to diesel. There was quite a crowd, as many of the male Grey Nomad brigade are into mechanical things. Our Captain & First Mate had changed uniforms and were now in overalls ready to fire up the engines! Both these attractions are run by the Bourke Council. With a huge puff of black smoke, the engines were up & running. Before choosing an outside table at Little Birdy, it would pay to check the wind direction!! Fascinating that these engines started life in the Sydney Power House generating electricity, before heading up the coast to Coffs Harbour to work at the Allowrie Butter Factory, before their final working life was pumping water at a Narromine farm. It is great to see such heritage preserved by passionate people.

John Murray's tribute to Bourke

The Old Post Office

We wandered around town, marvelling at the old buildings, some of which are very grand indeed. The Courthouse, the Post Office and old Police Station are really good examples of Colonial architecture. We drove out to the site of the weir and first lock on the Darling River. The river is running quite well, and there were a few fishermen, at the bottom of the weir trying their luck for Yellow Belly. The locals rave about it, but I reckon that's because they haven't tasted real fish from the ocean. To me, it doesn't matter how you clean it or catch it, it just tastes muddy!! Given that the Darling is brown, little wonder why!!

Fred Hollows Grave

Old riverside buildings

It may surprise you to learn, that the great man Fred Hollows, has his final resting place in Bourke Cemetery. We all know of his incredible work, restoring sight to hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged people world wide. His work started with the Australian Aboriginal people, and he fell in love with the Outback and its people. He was a special man, and requested Bourke to be his final home. So here, under the shade of a Coolibah Tree, in the middle of Bourke Cemetery, is Fred's grave. The monument is a huge granite boulder carved to reflect his work. It is very well done.

Tapas at Little Birdy Cafe

The Darling River

Our Tapas Night rolled around. We bumped into another couple we had enjoyed morning coffee with at the Hebel General Store, a week or so earlier. Ian & Robyn are a lovely couple, and like us, enjoyed the night immensely. The food was very good. Simple, tasty food that was delicious. The venue, candlelit out under the stars, under the warm glow of heaters that kept the chill at bay, was very romantic. The couple who provided the music were extremely good, singing a style of slow country blues that was just perfect for the occasion. The guy, who played acoustic guitar, had a withered arm with tiny fingers that plucked the guitar with amazing effect, and the girl had a haunting voice you could listen to for hours, and we did! It is incredible how many talented people are out there. They go by the name of Tangle Weeds.

The Outback Show

Talking Horses

The Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre, which also houses the Visitor Centre is excellent, and every day except Monday, they put on an Outback Show. It is very well done. The guy who does the show is a bush larrikin of the highest order. He arrives riding a camel, with another young camel in tow. He recounts the history of the camel in Australia, and the persecution the early Afghan Cameleers received. It is a serious message done in a light hearted way, with him talking to his camel!! I kid you not, this camel talked in his ear and the guy answered every question the camel asked!!! While all this was happening, the young camel was playing soccer with  huge ball, and then painted a painting holding the brush in his mouth! We got a display of sheep dog handling with a couple of beautifully trained kelpies. There was a lot of audience participation, especially with his horse, that could do almost anything. The prize was a year's supply of "Back O 'Bourke Baked Beans Bubble Bath"!! To finish the show, he hooked up a real Bullock Team comprising six bullocks, and had them load a log onto an old dray. It was a fantastic show. This passionate young man wants to keep the history of the Bourke region alive, and his unique show is a great way to do it.

Camels that paint

Camels that talk

We didn't get to do the Poetry On a Plate Show, that happens at Kidman's Camp, but this was a personal choice. We understand it is an excellent show, but we have done a number of such shows throughout our Outback Travels. We didn't travel far from town, and based on the information we received, there is a lot to see in the surrounding region, so we will have to keep Bourke on our radar for a future visit.

Emus everywhere.

Not a lot at Eulo!

Next morning, we headed north towards Cunnamulla. About halfway, we crossed the border into Southern Queensland. It wasn't a pleasant drive, as we experienced some of the worst road kill we have ever encountered. The road was littered with dead kangaroos, emus and pigs. We were constantly weaving a path around them, and the smell coming through the vents was horrible. The old crows and hawks were so fat they could hardly fly! This section of road is flat open plains, and the animals have been feasting, following better than average winter rains. We were seeing lots of live kangaroos & emus as well. Thankfully, the closer we got to Cunnamulla the less we saw. We stopped in Cunnamulla for lunch. It was a pleasant surprise to us, being a nicely kept town. The main attraction in town is The Cunnamulla Fella. This is a famous country song, written by Stan Coster & sung by Slim Dusty (and others). It is about a typical Australian bushman. There is a wonderful Bronze statue in the middle of town depicting the Cunnamulla Fella.

Giant Prehistoric Wombat

Never argue with a Road Train!

We continued on about 70 kms to the tiny Outback Town of Eulo, population 50 people & 1500 Lizards, where you can camp out the back, and enjoy the hospitality of this old bush pub, with the grand name of The Eulo Queen Hotel. We found a spot and even got power and water, which surprised us. It was Saturday night and the Footy Finals were on. We decided to watch the games at the pub, as dinner tonight was BBQ. We had a great night with a small crowd watching the footy. Almost every local in town came in for the BBQ, but went home to watch the footy. We found another couple of blokes from Kogarah, and almost got the Dragons home, but alas another season is over. We drowned our sorrows watching the Broncos V Cowboys, and enjoying our BBQ dinner. There isn't much else to do in Eulo. We had missed the Lizard Races. It is an opal mining town, but then after Lightning Ridge it is quite a let down! They have found quite a lot of fossils around the area, and we took a photo of the giant wombat like creature that roamed the bush millions of years ago, and then it was time to hit the road.

Pub Without a Town

Outback humour!

We were headed for Quilpie, another small outback town. The road was one of the developmental roads with a single lane of bitumen. Thankfully we only met one road train along the way. We stopped to offer assistance to a fellow caravanner who had a flat tyre on his 4WD, but they were OK, so on we went, reaching our lunch spot of Toompine. Now this is an interesting stop. Toompine is known as "The Pub Without a Town", as that is all that is now left!! It had been a town, but when the railway line was extended to Quilpie, a new town was built at Quilpie, and everyone left!! The pub though, has continued to operate, and is currently under new ownership! Good luck to them!! We had a good Aussie Hamburger and a beer and continued on our way. There was a lot of history and a lot of characters who had made it to Toompine over the years, and we added our names to the visitor book.

We eventually made it into Quilpie. I think along the way in 250 kilometres, we passed one road train, two cars, a truck towing a hot dog stand trailer to God knows where, and saw dozens of emus, kangaroos, goats and a few cattle & sheep. This really is the Outback. You see signs to properties that are 40, 50 or even 100's of kilometres along a dusty road. It is red earth, white earth and Mulga scrub, and incredibly dry, yet some people call it home and make a living from this unforgiving land.