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Bourke Gateway to the Australian Outback

Dance of the Echidna's

Bourke

Located in the Orana Region of western New South Wales, Bourke is the edge of the Outback. To many Australian, the saying Back O’ Bourke means in the middle of nowhere.

Visitor Centre

Our first stop was the Back O’ Bourke Tourist Information Centre, so that we could find out if there was anything new in the area to see. The friendly staff told us about a local artist’s gallery, a display at the airport and a riverboat cruise. They also gave us a map of the local cemetery, which had graves of interest marked, which was very helpful.

Outside the main building, an excellent sculpture artwork, The Dance of the Echidnas combines aboriginal culture and local flora, to form a great display.

Bourke Airport

As suggested by the tourist visitor centre, we dropped into the local airport, where the terminal is named after famous Australian aviator Nancy Bird-Walton. Nancy Bird-Walton, was a pioneering Australian aviator, known as “The Angel of the Outback”, and the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots’ Association. In the 1930s, she became a fully qualified pilot at the age of 19 becoming the youngest Australian woman to gain a pilot’s licence.

In addition to information and photos on Nancy Bird Walton, the airport terminal shows the history of aviation at Bourke and how important it was to Australia’s development of aviation. Many air races and original air routes passed through Bourke, before flying became what it is today.

MV Janda Riverboat

Heavy rain in the previous month meant that the Darling River was rising. We were lucky to get on the last river cruise because of the river’s height. The amount of silt washed down stream due to flooding meant that the river was brown.

The peaceful and relaxing 90-minute trip took us passed river red gums and farm land before returning.

Bourke Wharf

The wharf is a reconstruction of the original and is primarily a tourist attraction. However, it still shows how it operated, even as the river rose and fell seasonally, with multiple levels available to access the ships.

Crossley Engine

Sitting undercover near the wharf, the Crossley engine was donated by Bob Crawford and family from Narromine in 2001. Operated on weekdays for an hour by volunteers, and fully restored to working condition it is worth seeing.

Originally used from 1923 to 1938 in the Sydney Power House to generate electricity for Sydney it moved to the Allowrie Butter Factory in Coffs Harbour until 1949. It then went to a property in Narromine in 1949 to pump water for irrigation until 1964.

Historic Buildings

The centre of town has many lovely old buildings, which makes a walk through the main streets interesting, as you are constantly looking to see what is around.

Bourke Cemetery

Many people were visiting the cemetery when we arrived, mostly to see the grave of Fred Hollows. Fred was an ophthalmologist became known for his work in restoring eyesight for thousands of people in Australia and many other countries.

Our map from the Tourist Information Centre showed several other interesting graves. We found the most interesting to be the Afghan graves and associated mosque. Camels carried freight in the early days of colonial Australia, until replaced by trucks in the 1930s.

What did We Think of Bourke?

We found Bourke to be a very relaxed town, easy to find your way around, with plenty to see and do.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Our photos are available for purchase on

Monet and Friends Impressionists in Sydney

Monet and Friends

Monet and Friends

Monet and Friends is an art show unlike any other we have visited. Instead of paintings hung on gallery walls, huge projection screens display the art works. With over 20 screens, 3,000 pictures and surround sound it was a truly immersive experience.

The Royal Hall of Industries in Moore Park, Sydney, is a great venue and very easy to get to. We used public transport, catching the light rail from Central Station to Moore Park. Those who chose to drive parked in the car park near Fox Studios.

We arrived early, so bought a coffee in the entertainment quarter and relaxed before we went in.

The Entrance

The exhibition started before entering, as the entryway was a series of picture frames, along with Monet’s paintings. Inside, another huge frame was used as a stage for a ballerina performing in front of another painting.

Entrance
Entrance to the Exhibition
Monet and Friends
Ballerina on Monet’s Bridge

Monet and Friends Exhibition

Running on a 45 minute loop, the exhibition could be entered at any time, which was great so that you didn’t have to wait for it to finish before you entered. The auditorium was large and you were able to walk around to experience it from different perspectives.

The exhibition started with an introduction to impressionism and the important artists. We found this very interesting, because we only had a basic understanding of it. It went through the changes in painting style and the types of paints used. This was presented as a mixture of paintings, real life photos and audio explanations which made it very interesting.

Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Monet and Friends
The Huge Projection Screens
Monet and Friends
Pissarro
Monet and Friends
Cezanne

The Paintings

The wonderful paintings composed the largest part of the display. Being able to see them at such a huge scale was great. The immersive effect was very enjoyable, because the art completely surrounded you.

Monet and Friends
Monet and Friends
Monet and Friends
Monet and Friends
Monet and Friends
Monet and Friends
Monet and Friends
Monet and Friends

What Did We Think?

We spent over an hour immersed in art while leaning about impressionism. This was a great way to see Monet and the other impressionists, while being educated and entertained.

Gunnedah New South Wales

View of Gunnedah From Pensioners' Hill

Gunnedah New South Wales

Town History

Located on the north west slopes of New South Wales, Gunnedah has a long history of habitation by the Kamilaroi people. The town’s name means Place of White Stones in the Kamilaroi language. Within 45 years

Colonial settlers arrived in the area in 1833, taking advantage of the Patrick Plain fertile soil to farm sheep.

Getting There

Gunnedah was our second overnight stop on our road trip. Only a 90 minute drive from Dubbo, the road was in good condition the whole way. Direct from Sydney, it’s a five hour drive, but there are plenty of interesting stops along the way, the most notable of which is Coonabarabran.

Attractions

Gunnedah Town Centre

The Gunnedah town centre is full of old historic buildings, making a walk though town interesting. While there, look at the buildings’ facades as they are often nicely decorated and show the year the building was built. Over time many buildings have changed owners but the original builder is often still displayed on the facade.

Miners’ Memorial

In the centre of town near Wolseley Park a statue pays tribute to the coal miners who brought wealth to the town. Many miners failed to return home because of the dangerous work and this is a memorial to them.

Miners' Memorial Wolseley Park Gunnedah
Miners’ Memorial Wolseley Park

Red Chief Memorial

Located in the town centre, adjacent to the NSW Government Offices building in Abbott Street this is first memorial erected in honour of an Aboriginal historical identity.

Buried probably in late 1700`s. Cumbo Gunnerah was the legendary warrior and wise leader of the Gunn-e-darr people of the Kamilaroi tribe. He was buried, it is thought, in the late 1700’s in a manner befitting an Aboriginal man of great importance, that is in a sitting position, backed by a tree carved with totemic designs in his honour.

Red Chief Memorial Gunnedah
Red Chief Memorial

Silo Art

A beautiful piece of silo art now brightens one of Gunnedah’s old silos. Featuring Dorothea Mackellar and lines from My Country, it adds to the Mackellar presence in town. For our blog on the silo, click here.

Gunnedah Maize Mill Silo Depicting Dorothea Mackellar and Lines From My Country
Gunnedah Maize Mill Silo Depicting Dorothea Mackellar and Lines From My Country

Gunnedah Water Tank Museum

The Water Tank Museum contains artefacts from Gunnedah’s past, as well as an amazing mural on the outside, dedicated to the Vietnam War. To see our full blog and more photos click here.

Gunnedah Water Tower mural
Water Tower mural: Soldiers of 7RAR waiting to be picked up by Huey Helicopters by Jenny McCracken

Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue

In addition to the Silo art honouring Dorothea Mackellar, a statue of the poet riding a horse can be found near the Water Tower Museum. Our full blog and photos can be found here.

Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue
Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue

Pensioners Hill Lookout and Sculptures

This beautiful sculpture-filled park has great views over town, making it a must visit when you visit. An easy walk from the car park past the sculptures rewards you with magnificent views. Our blog and photos of all the sculptures is here.

Aboriginal Man Sculpture Gunnedah
Aboriginal Man Sculpture

Gunnedah Rural Museum

This is a fantastic place to visit especially for those interested in rural life in Australia from the late 1800s to late 1900s. We particularly liked the tractor and car collection, as they were extensive and in good condition. The museum also has a model railway out the front for rail enthusiasts. We really enjoyed this laid back huge museum. The full blog of our visit is here.

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To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.