The Pub Route | Bourke

One of the most iconic destinations in Australia, and referred to fondly by the term ‘The Back of Bourke’, this small rural township is located on the banks of the Darling River, and is something of a regional centre for surrounding villages and properties. Sometimes known as ‘The Gateway to the Real Outback’ Bourke is a key service centre for fuel and supplies before heading out to explore the region.

Bourke is the center of an ‘Outback Hub’ with many spokes to the wheel. There are villages, parks, and sites at every point of the compass, affording dozens of opportunities for day trips, overnighters, or longer stays in the real outback.

An hour travelling in any direction will take you to a legendary village like Louth, Byrock, or Enngonia, where local hospitality is waiting to show you the hidden secrets of the area. Whether it’s a brief sojourn or a deep dive into the ‘Back’ of Bourke, your journey begins here.

Bourke Pubs

Take a pub crawl through history & make a Pub Stop in Bourke!

Visit Bourke along these adjoining Pub Routes. Discover more routes and pub history.

Bourke Attractions

Visitor Information

Experience the famous Darling River aboard the majestic Jandra Paddleboat. Enjoy one of the relaxing daily cruises, or book a private charter for your special event. Once onboard, the Captain will inform and entertain you with a delightful commentary on river life, flora, fauna, and the riverboat era’s history.

The Back O’ Bourke Information and Exhibition Centre is a world-class centre that employs a series of interactive installations and stunning visual screen displays to immerse visitors with stories of the Australian Outback, bringing them to life and actively engaging visitors with the area’s rich history.

View the iconic North Bourke Bridge, Australia’s oldest movable span bridge. This bridge is one of the most historic bridges in New South Wales. It is one of two surviving lift span bridges in New South Wales, with the other upstream of Bourke at Brewarrina.

The sunsets at Mount Oxley are stunning, with vibrant pinks and purples painting the sky. Mount Oxley showcases the abundance of wildlife in the region, including wedge-tail eagles and wallabies.

Bourke Cemetery is a fascinating piece of Australia’s frontier history. An hour spent browsing the inscriptions will take you back into a world of bushrangers and drovers, cameleers and riverboat men, lost children and local heroes. Bourke’s cemetery predates the town.

The Crossley Engine in Bourke is an oil-fuelled stationary engine manufactured by the Crossley Brothers in 1923. Over the years more than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines were built, and it is a testament to their quality that many are still in use today.

The Percy Hobson Mural was completed in April 2021 by renowned Lightning Ridge artist John Murray, local artists Brian Smith and Bobby Barrett, Melbourne street artist Lucas Kasper and a crew of local Indigenous artists.

The Lock at the Bourke Weir was the first to be built on a river anywhere along with the Murray/Darling river systems. Built in 1897, and was designed to maintain a reasonable level of water in the river near the town. The lock measures 59.5 metres between gates and is 11 metres wide. It was concreted and converted into a weir in 1941.

Useful Links

Road condition reports

Hotels of the Bourke Shire – Past & Present

Take a journey back in time and discover the historical pubs of the Bourke Shire