Bourke is a town of about 3000 people on the Darling River 770 km north west of Sydney and has a daily airservice from Sydney via a connection in Dubbo. Bourke is 380 km north west of Dubbo and it takes 3 and a half hours to drive. 

Bourke is the resting place of Fred Hollows the famous eye surgeon and was where he started his work treating trachoma in the Australian aboriginal population. The Prince of Wales Hospital continues to offer an excellent eye health service and cataract surgery in Bourke to this day. The term ‘Back of Bourke’ was made famous by a poem of the same name by the bush poet Will Ogilvie. However the Back of Bourke is more than a geographic location, it's part of the Australian language, part of the folklore. Bourke provoked author Henry Lawson to write after his visit in 1893, 'If you know Bourke, you know Australia.'

There are three medical centres in Bourke, Darling River Medical Centre, the practice of Dr Heather Dalgety and the Bourke Aboriginal Health Service. The Darling River Medical Centre and Dr Dalgety provide GP sessions to the Bourke Aboriginal Health Service.

At Bourke Hospital the roster consists of a first on call, second on call and a procedural roster for obstetrics and anaesthetics. On average there are about 8 acute presentations to see the first on call doctor per day.

Bourke qualifies for an annual Medicare Retention Grant of $20,000 after 2 years (defined as 8 active quarters).

There is a range of accommodation from stylish B and B, several motels, self catering units and a caravan park.