Well I am glad I decided to go to Bourke on this trip. I had heard alot of negative comments about it, b ut I found it to be a terrific place. Both days I was there I ended up chatting to old blokes by the Darling River. What a treat! The 1st bloke was Rick Hopton, a retired constable. He is still recovering from stomach cancer and isn’t in the best of health, but he is still out there getting about. The second day I was there, I was waiting to go and meet a mate, reading a book at the old wharf, when an old aboriginal bloke wandered past. I said g’day and then he sat down and we had a chat. Tom Vincent was his name. He was blind in one eye and had a buggered leg from a car accident years earlier. His mate Alan Sullivan showed up and they managed to down a bottle of port in about 15 minutes, all the while telling me stories of their past. They had been mates for 40 or 50 years, depending on who you listened to. They were terrific old blokes.

I left Tom and Alan and headed of to meet my mate Duncan. He had gotten permission for us to take photos of the abandoned meatworks in Bourke. It was a fantastic place to look around and take photos of. Dangerous, creepy and full of surprises. I had a ball. We spent a good couple of hours wandering around. Thanks alot Duncan.

Part of the abandoned meat works at Bourke.