Bourke

Bourke stands on the Darling River at the practical edge of settled Australia, and the expression back of Bourke, meaning the far interior, comes directly from that position. In the nineteenth century it was a major inland port: paddle steamers carried wool down the Darling to the Murray and on to South Australia, and the reconstructed wharf on the riverbank recalls a trade that moved enormous tonnages when the river ran. Henry Lawson worked here and wrote about it. The Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre covers the region's history and characters, the historic cemetery holds the graves of Afghan cameleers, and river cruises run when water levels allow.

What you actually see

• The river wharf - the reconstructed paddle-steamer wharf on the Darling.
• The exhibition centre - the region's history, writers and outback characters.
• The historic cemetery - graves including those of Afghan cameleers.
• The Darling River - the waterway that made and defined the town.

When to go

April to September; summer regularly exceeds forty degrees and is genuinely punishing. Winter days are warm and clear. River cruises depend entirely on water levels, and the Darling has run dry or near-dry in recent drought years.

Honest expectations

The Darling's flow is unreliable and the river can be a series of pools or empty channels. The town has visible social difficulties that surprise some visitors. Distances are long and services thin once you leave the main highway.

Nearby

Mount Oxley lookout is east; Brewarrina and its ancient fish traps lie downstream.