Bourke

History

The location of the current township of Bourke is on a bend in the Darling River on the traditional country of the Ngemba people. Archaeological sites indicate Aboriginal occupancy of the region dating back thousands of years. The first British explorer to explore the river was Charles Sturt in 1828 who named it after Sir Ralph Darling, Governor of New South Wales. Having struck the region during an intense drought and a low river, Sturt dismissed the area as largely uninhabitable and short of any features necessary for establishing reliable industry on the land. Further exploration of the area did not occur until 1835 when the colonial surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell conducted an expedition. Following tensions with the local people Mitchell built a small stockade to protect his men and named it Fort Bourke after then Governor Sir Richard Bourke. British pastoral settlement failed to occur for many years in the vicinity due to the large distances from the colonised areas and the strong resistance from the local Aboriginal population. It wasn't until 1859 when British colonists were able to gain a foothold along the Upper Darling, with the arrival of paddle steamers making river transportation and trade to the southern settlements seasonally viable. The first British pastoralist to appropriate land around Fort Bourke was Edward J Spence in late 1858, but it was Vincent James Dowling with his head stockman, John E Kelly, who successfully established the Fort Bourke cattle station and homestead in 1859. Dowling clashed with the resident Aboriginal population, receiving a spear through his hat and his horse being wounded by a boomerang. However, he was able to come to terms with the Indigenous people, who became a cheap source of labour for his run. The immediate area…

Most-observed species

• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  580
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  572
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  512
• White-plumed Honeyeater

  Ptilotula penicillata (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  468
• Black Kite

  Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  395
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  389
• Yellow-throated Miner

  Manorina flavigula (Gould, 1840) · Aves
  379
• Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo

  Calyptorhynchus banksii (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  377

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2008-06-09
  22 km S of Brewarrina, Australia