Riverview Hotel

The first licence in North Bourke appears to be for ‘The Overland’ Hotel in 1876, with subsequent licences being issued for The Western Star, The Bridge Hotel, the Occidental Hotel and later The Riverview Hotel, which is where the current ‘Northy’ sits.

There is a story that the old lift-span North Bourke Bridge is bent because the pub (thought to be the Occidental) refused to relocate when the bridge, and its increased usage, required improvements to the approaches.

From the Western Herald:

A curve is to be introduced into the North Bourke bridge, of a radius of 465 ft. and a grade of 1/60.  (These alterations were completed by 2/2/1903, and the southern approach also rebuilt and raised. Traffic meanwhile was diverted across the dry river).”

The Western Herald – 1902  

Before the erection of the bridge, merchandise outgoing from Bourke to the west had to be loaded from the barges on to wagons, or from wagons on the eastern side, punted across the river and reloaded again onto wagons. Incoming wool was likewise loaded by rope slings from trees to barges or again punted over to other wagons before being taken overland to Sydney, when rivers were unnavigable.

May 1883 saw the completion of the bridge, three years before the coming of the railway to Bourke. The steel sections were brought to the site by either steamer or teams. One report says that horses were known to have dragged sections across the river just north of the town

Some interesting recollections from Wallace O Caldwell are included in the History of Bourke Volumes relating to an unknown North Bourke Hotel:

“The night the men were paid off from making the embankment round the town some got drunk and were diving off the hotel balcony into the street. The water was high there. Some of them got drowned. No-one knows how many. There were all strangers and the main channel of the river was only a few yards away. I know of two who were found dead stuck in a wire fence.

You would see all sorts of things floating down the river-boxes, pieces of furniture, bedding etc. There was an amusing thing one morning. We were sitting on the balcony when we heard a cock crowing for all he was worth. It was a solitary rooster on a big box floating down the river I don’t know if he was calling for help or giving three cheers. At night there would be men and women out in boats singing and having a good time. By a stretch of the imagination you could think you were in Venice. I suppose Venice would be something like it only not so dangerous.

At North Bourke, although there was very little drunkenness that you would notice, the hotels there must have made a fortune.

Sometimes sitting on that balcony at the hotel I thought and have thought since of all that water going to waste. It was draining millions of acres of the richest land in the world. That was only keeping a few people that were running sheep and cattle. Land that with irrigation would grow anything if it was conserved by big dams. And big dams, no great engineering feat to do, make it ready for people to go on. (It would cost millions but would return billions).“

More recent history has a report of Dr Fred Hollows ritual with visiting medical students:

“Fred himself used a Range Rover, and often camped on the trip up and while here. Some of the party often used Manston Lodge (the later Riverside Motel). I myself camped with them on occasions, certainly once at the Ten Mile below Stoney Point, and once or twice on the “Rossmore” claypans in full view of Mt Oxley. (Claypans are clean and ant-free, and in some demand by experienced campers).

On one evening of each visit Fred would collect those who were capable and we would run out to the North Bourke “Riverview” Hotel (even if it was under heatwave conditions). Alan Groube (now deceased) was licensee, with his first wife “Goodge” nee Warmoll.

A small party followed, Fred usually playing darts; and then we ran the 6 km home again. The first couple of km were usually uncomfortable after the beer; perhaps especially for Fred and me, as we both sweated more than most people. (We also used to do the City to Surf, but Fred around 1980 was very much faster than I was, and well up on the list of finishers).

Conversation in the bar was mutually restricted to non-controversial subjects, and one knew better than to make adverse comments about Queen Elizabeth II, who watched over the bar; or about the Country Party.”