Michael Bourke 1847-1883

			/
			\
	Patrick Bourke		/
	|		\
Michael Bourke			/
= Susannah Nicholson	|		\
	Mary Cannon		/
			\

Michael Bourke, son of an Irish couple Patrick Bourke and Mary Cannon, was born in Melbourne, Victoria on June 23rd, 1847. He was baptised at the newly built St. Francis' Church on Sunday July 12th, 1847 in Lonsdale street, Melbourne, Victoria.

Micheal evidently lived with his family in Melbourne for a number of years, but what he did in his teenage years and early twenties in Victoria and New South Wales is unclear. Perhaps he came with his sister when she moved to New South Wales with her young family in the mid 1860's. However, he is recorded as being the first wardsman of the Parkes District Hospital, established in 1873. By the end of 1874 he gave his occupation as Miner and was living in Forbes street, Parkes.

On Boxing Day of the same year he married Susannah Nicholson at her father's house in Parkes, NSW at 27 years of age. Susan was the first Matron of the Parkes District Hospital - perhaps this is where they first got to know each other. On this same day Susan gave birth to James John Bourke (although it is not known which of these two events happened first on this rather momentous day). James was to be the first of four children born to Michael and Susannah, but did not live much beyond his first birthday.

They lived in the town for at least 4 years whilst Michael worked, for at least part of the time, as a warder in Parkes Public Hospital. Presumably Susan was now caring for her growing family.

By 1881 Michael and his family had moved to Stannifer, a tin mining town in the north of NSW 5 miles from Inverell. Michael was a innkeeper in one of the town's few pubs, most likely operating from a rude slab hut. Pubs were "the meeting places where there was always some miner celebrating his luck or drowning his sorrows at the lamp-lit bars and where there were frequent fights to settle a score or prove a point. In the evenings, mellow Irish voices and rich Welsh voices could be heard raised in song, with the music of bagpipes, concertinas, fiddles, flutes mouth organs or tambourines drifting from dimly lit tents and huts - music that drifted on the night air to mingle with the baying and barking of dogs and the grunting & squealing of pigs".

Michael's decision to become an innkeeper was proved unwise when he died of alcoholic poisoning at the age of 36 in November 1883 whilst Susan was pregnant with their fifth child. His body was interred in the Catholic cemetery on November 28th, 1883 in the Sydney suburb of Waverly.

Susannah Alletta Nicholson and Michael Bourke had the following children:

James John Bourke was born in Parkes, NSW on Boxing Day 1874. James was apparently born on the same day as his parent's wedding (although it is not known which of these two events happened first on this rather momentous day). James was to be the first of four children born to Michael and Susannah, but did not live much beyond his first birthday. James died on May 18th, 1876 in Parkes, NSW, at 1 years of age. James died of inflammation of the stomach (gastritis). His body was interred at Goobang Creek Cemetary on May 19th 1876 in Parkes, NSW.

Donald Hugh Aloysius Bourke was born in Parkes, NSW on February 10th, 1877.He died on June 2nd, 1941 in Sydney, NSW, at 64 years of age. Several obituaries were written about Donald, the main one appearing in "Smith's Weekly"

Mary Alberta MacCallum Bourke

Susan Georgina Gormon Bourke was born in the tin mining town of Stannifer, NSW on July 5th, 1881. Susie died on June 7th, 1924 in the Sydney suburb of Manly, at 42 years of age of breast cancer

Argyle Michael Bourke was born in the tin mining town of Stannifer, NSW on April 24th, 1884.His date of death is unknown (but some time after 1923).

This page hosted byGet your own Free Home Page