The pubs of Bourke

The Shakespeare Hotel, boarded up like a lot of Bourke's buildings. It still has a bottle shop at least. In its heyday it was where the Amalgamated Shearers' Union met. When this union branch was formed in 1887, it was the second one in the country (after the one in Queensland). In the 1890's this union, and the shearers' strikes, led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party, the first Labour Party in the world.

This one's rather picturesque. It's the Post Office Hotel.







The Carriers Arms Hotel was often frequented by poet, writer, and journalist Henry Lawson, during his stint in Bourke in 1891/92. He frequented a lot of pubs, all over Australia, lets face it, and drank an awful lot. But he also wrote a lot of fine stuff. Here's his poem about Bourke:
http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/lawson-henry/bourke-0108028

Lawson wrote frequently for the Western Herald newspaper while he was in Bourke. It's been in continuous operation since the 1880s. Here it is, finalising production for the week's edition.







 And here's the Riverside Motel, formerly the Telegraph Hotel, dating back to 1876. It's on the banks of the Darling River, and it's where we stayed. A very comfortable and pleasant boutique accommodation place.