Fortunately the rain from yesterday had cooled the land and an overcast sky remained to further restrict any rise in temperature. In fact it did not get beyond 28 degrees today.
Bourke is a lovely town and the locals have been extremely friendly. They love their town and are proud of it. It has a population of around 2300 and has as its mantra, "Gateway to the Outback". It essentially fills a service roll now that trade along the Darling with paddlewheel boats has ceased. However they do grow cotton, citrus fruits, other fruits and small crops.
We did a quick tour of some of the town highlights including the replica wharf on the Darling River. Originally there were three wharves built in 1898, to load and unload goods of trade, plying the mighty Darling River. Even today, the Darling, given it is in the outback, is a mighty river. The brochures claim it to be the longest River in Australia. While there is water in it, its nearby waterholes and billabongs are dry. Its flood plain is huge. We had a look at the old weir and lock a few kilometres out of town.
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| 251114 The main street of Bourke |
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251114 The Darling River from the Wharf in the centre of Bourke.
The wharf is a replica of three built in 1898 |
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251114 A Crossley diesel engine built in 1923. in running condition
and is started every day. Was used locally for pumping water for
crops but started out life in Sydney as an electricity generator |
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251114 Historical Lock and Weir built in 1897. Lock is
no longer used. Weir still retains water for Bourke |
Mount Oxley, 45 km out of town was next on our list. We passed through a working sheep station on the way before we were confronted by a roadway up a 550m mountain which left much to be desired. Fortunately it was mostly bitumen, with potholes. It had been built to service the several communication towers at the top. The drive was worth it though as the view from the top was magnificent. We were able to see Coranga Peak 75km away but it was too hazy to photograph. A herd of goats was our only company while we were there. There is also a geologic phenomenon on the top. There are shattered rocks lying in a limited area say 150m by 80m and there are depressions in the surface from which the rocks seem to have come. May be it was some young folk having fun with dynamite but the locals won't admit to this.
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| 251114 Mount Oxley |
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| 251114 Fortunately the gate was unlocked |
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251114 They were shearing as we passed by the shed, so these are
"befores" and "afters" |
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| 251114 The exciting road up Mount Oxley |
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| 271114 Portion of the 360 degree view from the top of Mount Oxley |
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| 251114 More of the view from Mount Oxley |
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| 251114 And we were the only ones there at the picnic spot on Mount Oxley |
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251114 There is no explanation for these shattered rocks
on the top of Mount Oxley |
After Mount Oxley we had a very moving visit to Fred Hollows grave site in the Bourke Cemetry. He did exceptional work with outback people, including the aborigines, and he loved them and he loved Bourke itself. The inscriptions on the public monument and on his actual tombstone, a block of polished granite representing an interocular lens, were so moving we were brought to tears.
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| 251114 Fred Hollows grave site in the Bourke Cemetry |
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251114 Fred Hollow's tombstone, polished granite representing
an interocular lens |
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| 251114 The plaque on the public monument |
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| 251114 The public monument to Fred Hollows |
We composed ourselves and moved on to view the PV Jandra (P for paddle), which is moored a few km up from Bourke. It is used only for tourist cruises.
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| 251114 The PV Jandra, a paddle boat operating for tourist cruises only |
Our day was finished with a visit to the old North Bourke Bridge. A modern bridge has replaced the original bridge and slowly but surely time and the elements are having an impact on the old one.
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251114 The North Bourke Bridge built in 1883.
Now replaced by a more modern bridge |
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251114 at the centre of the North Bourke Bridge. The centre section
could be raised for river traffic originally |
We have enjoyed our visit to Bourke. There is probably more to see here but we are moving on tomorrow.
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