Bourke, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bourke is an outback town in north-western New South Wales, on the south bank of the Darling River about 800 kilometres from Sydney and the seat of Bourke Shire. The Ngemba people are recognised among the traditional landholders, and the district also adjoins Barkindji, Wangkumara and Muruwari country. The town is named after Governor Sir Richard Bourke, after the explorer Thomas Mitchell built a stockade he called Fort Bourke nearby in 1835. In the riverboat era it grew into a major wool port, with paddle steamers carrying the clip down the Darling, and the phrase 'back o' Bourke' came to mean the remote interior. The writer Henry Lawson worked here in 1892, and the eye surgeon Fred Hollows is buried in the town cemetery.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Bourke is more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 925, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Bourke at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,699
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,560
- SEIFA score
- 925
- Coordinates
- -30.1923, 146.0187
Bourke demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bourke using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 26%, 40% of homes are rented, and 6% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 385 | 23% |
| Youth (15–24) | 197 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 445 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 422 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 236 | 14% |
Share of the 1,685 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 157 | 29% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 126 | 23% |
| Rented | 217 | 40% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 519 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 10 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 14 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 558 occupied private dwellings in Bourke.
- Median weekly rent
- $180
- Median monthly mortgage
- $947
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,898
- Median weekly personal income
- $860
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 89 (6%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 85 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 577 (34%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 450 (35%)
- Labour-force participation
- 54.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.5%
- Employed full-time
- 494
- Employed part-time
- 144
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Bourke
Where is Bourke?
Bourke is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Bourke?
At the 2021 Census, Bourke had a population of about 1,699.
Is Bourke an advantaged area?
Bourke has an ABS SEIFA score of 925, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 19 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of Australian suburbs.
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