The wharves at Bourke, NSW seen from the opposite bank. Several paddle-steamers can be seen ...

The wharves at Bourke, NSW seen from the opposite bank. Several paddle-steamers can be seen docked at the wharf in the foreground. Note the cranes on the top of the wharf used for loading the paddle-steamers. Photograph is printed as a postcard. Bean's note on reverse of postcard reads "Quite a buzzy scene but it is all gone now, hardly a stick remains to show where the wharves were. I can't say for sure but the second boat looks like the 'Dreadnought' to me. There's no punt and only one little pulling boat to show where the famous port of Bourke satnds. You can see the stairs where you rushed down that moring to join us, about 1908". One of a series of photographs taken by C. E. W. Bean during two trips he made in 1908 and 1909 to regional NSW as a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald. The purpose of these trips was to research the wool industry of western NSW and the transportation and railway possibilities of the Darling River region. Photographs from the private collection of C. E. W. Bean held at AWM38 3DRL 6673.