Bourke Council is a local government area in the Orana

Orana, New South Wales

Orana is a region in central northern New South Wales, Australia. It has a population of 120,000 people, and is the largest region in New South Wales with an area of 199,078 square kilometres, approximately 25% of the state...

 region of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is on the Darling River

Darling River

The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is long, making it the longest river system in Australia.The...

, which is known as the Barwon River

Barwon River (New South Wales)

The Barwon River flows through New South Wales, virtually as a continuation of the Macintyre River / Border Rivers system, before joining with the Culgoa River to form the Darling River...

 upstream from Bourke. It is also on the Mitchell Highway

Mitchell Highway

The Mitchell Highway is a major rural highway in Australia, travelling through central and northern New South Wales and south central Queensland. The highway starts from its northern end in Queensland with the Landsborough Highway near Augathella and continues south to Charleville and Cunnamulla...

. It is a wool and beef producing area.

Incomes

According to the Australian Bureau Statistics during 2003-04, there:

- were 1,062 wage and salary earners (ranked 141st in New South Wales and 457th in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's 2,558,415 and Australia's 7,831,856)

- was a total income of $35,694,471 (around $36 million) (ranked 137th in New South Wales and 449th in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's $107,179,688,262 (around $107 billion) and Australia's $304,034,755,876 (around $304 billion))

- was an estimated average

Average

In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....

income per wage and salary earner of $33,611 (ranked 88th in New South Wales and 298th in Australia, 81% of New South Wales's $41,407 and 87% of Australia's $38,820)

- was an estimated median

Median

In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...

income per wage and salary earner of $32,426 (ranked 71st in New South Wales and 235th in Australia, 91% of New South Wales's $35,479 and 95% of Australia's $34,149).

Main towns and villages

Bourke Shire includes Bourke

Bourke, New South Wales

-Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...

 and the very small outback

Outback

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...

 towns of Byrock

Byrock, New South Wales

Byrock is a small village in north western New South Wales, Australia in Bourke Shire. In 2006, Byrock had a population of 90 people.It is named after a rock hole, called Bai by the Nyammba tribe...

, Enngonia, Fords Bridge, Wanaaring

Wanaaring, New South Wales

- References :* http://wiserivers.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/Multimedia/vBlob.jsp?lvl1=3&lvl2=1&lvl3=4&lvl4=9&lvl5=5...

 and Louth

Louth, New South Wales

Louth is a village on the eastern side of the Darling River in New South Wales, Australia. The village is in Bourke Shire, 99 kilometres south west of Bourke and 132 kilometres north west of Cobar. The town is made famous by the Louth Races which are held in August each year, attracting crowds of...

.

Council

Bourke Shire Council is composed of ten councillors elected proportionally. The mayor is not directly elected. The current makeup of the council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...  and Unaffiliated	10
	Total	10

The current council, elected in 2008, is:

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Wally Mitchell	Unaffiliated
	Bob Stutsel	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Deputy Mayor
	Victor Bartley	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Sally Davis	Unaffiliated
	Cec Dorrington	Unaffiliated
	Barry Hollman	Unaffiliated
	Andrew Lewis	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Mayor
	John Holmes	Unaffiliated
	Olga Collis-McAnespie	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Lachlan Ford	Unaffiliated	Elected on 8 May 2010 to replace Steve Greentree