Bourke is a town in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. The administrative centre and largest town in Bourke Shire, Bourke is approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north-west of the state capital, Sydney, on the south bank of the Darling River. It is also situated:
The Far West region of New South Wales, Australia refers generally to the western part of the state, which is too dry to support wheat or other crops or intensive pastoral endeavours. It is west of the North West Slopes, Central West and the Riverina. It is an area with limited rainfall. The only major rivers found in it are the Darling River and the Murray River (on its southern edge), which originate in the Great Dividing Range to the east. The region corresponds to the combination of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's forecast areas of Upper Western and Lower Western. It also corresponds to the Western Division established under the New South Wales Western Lands Act 1901.
The only city in the Far West is Broken Hill. Other significant towns are Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, Ivanhoe and Wentworth.
The state of New South Wales is divided into three divisions: the Eastern Division, the Central Division, and the Western Division. These were established for the purposes of the management of the lease of Crown land to private persons.The Western Division includes Broken Hill, Bourke, Cobar, Cockburn (NSW half), Walgett, Wentworth as well as the western land boards of Forbes, Griffith, Rankins Springs, West Wyalong, White Cliffs, Wyalong, Conargo, Hay and Parkes.
The Western Lands Act 1901 established a Western Lands Board, composed of three commissioners, to issue leases in the Western Division. The Progressive See government appointed Colin James McMasters as chairman on a salary of £1,500 per year and Robert McDonald and Hugh Langwell as commissioners on a salary of £1,000 per year. In 1931 the Lang government appointed a Royal Commission to inquire into the administration of the Western Lands Division, including whether the then commissioners, Hugh Langwell, George Australia Denning and Arthur Willim Mullen were guilty of misbehaviour or incompetence. The commissioner, Ernest Arthur Prior, found that they had been negligent and incompetent, and they were dismissed on the advice of cabinet.
Brewarrina (pronounced bree-warren-ah; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is 96 kilometres (60 mi) east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, and 787 km from Sydney. The population of Brewarrina in 2021 was 743. Other towns and villages in the Brewarrina district include: Goodooga, Gongolgon, Weilmoringle, and Angledool.
Today it is known as the location of the Ngunnhu (Aboriginal fish traps), which were created over 40,000 years ago. Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission existed alongside the river from 1876 to 1967.