Bourke Cemetery
Step back in time with a visit to Bourke's Historic Cemetery.
Bourke's cemetery predates the town and has been the scene for two of Australia's most famous funerals. In September 1892 a young Henry Lawson joined in the procession following the coffin of an unknown young stockman who had drowned in a billabong near Bourke. His union papers identified him simply as 'James Tyson'. (It was later discovered that his name was John Hallahan) The melancholy event was captured by Lawson in what became his best story -"The Union Buries its Dead" - a classic tale from the Western frontier.
Bourke is also the resting place of 1991 Australian of the Year, Professor Fred Hollows. The Eye Surgeon developed a commitment to Aboriginal health and was instrumental in the development of Aboriginal medical centres and the launching of the national trachoma and eye health program. Fred's concern for eye health soon spread and he set up clinics in Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Vietnam and in Latin America.
He was known world wide for his determination to restore the sight of people going needlessly blind. His motto "that all the world may see" echoes the "mateship ethic Lawson celebrated a century earlier as the true spirit of the bush.
Also in Bourke cemetery are graves of several Afghans associated with the camel trade that ceased in the 1920's. The graves of two policemen killed on duty (one by a bushranger). Many of the epitaphs in the cemetary tell of tragedy that constantly stalked the Western plains -"drowned", "killed by lightning", "murdered", "poisoned himself", "shot dead by police", Sheer isolation took its toll, "found hanging in the bush", "found dead in the bush", "perished in the bush".
Contact details
Environmental Services Department
02 6830 8000 (ph)
02 6872 3030 (fax)
bourkeshire@bourke.nsw.gov.au
