Bourke Post Office is a two-storey Victorian Filigree style building of cream painted double brick lower storey and reddish-brown face brick upper storey.
Bourke is a town in the north of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located approximately 800 km northwest of Sydney, on the south bank of the Darling River. At the 2006 census, Bourke had a population of 2,145, 815 or 33% of whom identified as Indigenous Australians.
Bourke is notable for being that place which symbolises the remoteness of many localities in Australia, those places which are Back of Bourke, and thus has a great deal in common with the Queensland town of Blackall, which is home of the Black Stump and the point of origin for those places which are
Beyond the Black Stump.
Bourke is also noted for Fort Bourke, the first and only fort to be erected by the explorers of Australia as a means of defence.
Fort Bourke was erected by Major Thomas Mitchell on 29 May 1835 during his second journey of exploration tracing the Darling River.
Bourke is also notable for many other things, not the least of them being the last resting place of Professor Fred Hollows. In accordance with his wishes, Frederick Cossom (Fred) Hollows was interred in Bourke, where he had worked in the early 1970s. Fred Hollows first visited Bourke as the Chair of the Division of Ophthalmology at the University of New South Wales, Prince of Wales/Prince Henry Teaching Hospitals.
His eye team held their first clinic at the showgrounds, later relocating regular weekend clinics to Bourke District Hospital. They were welcomed in true Bourke spirit and provided services to other communities in the district, including Brewarrina, Cobar, Enngonia, Walgett, and Wilcannia. These vital screening and surgical services are continued today by the Eye Team from the Department of Ophthalmology at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney.
Pretty much everyone in the district knew Fred and had a story about him to tell anyone who would listen. Whether it be about how he treated their eyes, how he swore at them, cajoled them, joked or shared a yarn with them. Fred Hollows always left a lasting impression.
Fred had a very special relationship with Bourke. He spent a lot of time there and made many good and lifelong friends as a result. Gabi and the family treasure these friendships and the deep ties they share with the local community.
You can read more about Fred, his work and his legacy at The Fred Hollows Foundation - Fred in Bourke.