back o' Bourke

English

Etymology

From the town of Bourke in north-western New South Wales. By supposition, even further west and north than Bourke.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adverb

back o' Bourke (not comparable)

1. (Australia, informal) At or to an extremely remote place.
   • 1979, Eric Reade, History and Heartburn: The Saga of Australian Film, 1896-1978‎^[1], page 28:

     Mated in the Wild took the audience back o’ Bourke — to Central Australia to be exact.

   • 2002, Garrie Hutchinson, Gilly the Great: The Best Australian Sports Writing, 2002, page 13:

     Gilchrist has a head that would have passed unnoticed Back o′Bourke where they played cricket using termite mounds as stumps.

   • 2009, Chinle Miller, Desert Rats: Adventures in the American Outback‎^[2], page 110:

     “We're getting Back o′ Bourke, sport, a bit of a ways from the bitumen,” Ian notes, huffing a bit.

Proper noun

the back o' Bourke

1. (Australia, informal) An extremely remote place.
   • 2007, Kevin Noble, Chris Foote Wood, Baghdad Trucker, page 93:

     There were a few Aussies on site, but most preferred to work in or around Perth. The large majority would venture no farther than the coastal resorts, classing the back o'Bourke (back of beyond) as a “no-go” area.

   • 2009, William Efford, Picaroon‎^[3], page 238:

     “Where ya headed mate?”
     “In the back o′ bourke,” said Kate, “and we'll need roo bars and a rack.”

Synonyms

• See: Thesaurus:remote place
• back o' beyond, back of beyond
• beyond the black stump
• middle of nowhere
• Woop Woop

See also

• backblocks
• outback