A century on from the end of World War I we acknowledge their service …
Lest we forget.
Lieutenant Robert Levers Bourke
Born: 7 April 1885 Carlton. Died: 25 July 1952 Mooroopna
Enlisted: 14 June 1915 aged 30
Served: Egypt, Gallipoli and Western Front
A son of Daniel Bourke and Frances (Fanny) Levers, Bob’s grandparents Michael and Catherine Bourke settled in Pakenham back in 1844, building up extensive pastoral holdings, as well as other business interests including the La Trobe Inn (later Bourke’s Hotel) on the Gippsland Road.
Bob’s father Daniel was a long-serving Berwick Shire councillor.
Bob enlisted in the Army in June 1915, aged 30, during a surge in recruitments following the Anzac landings at Gallipoli. He served with the 22nd Battalion at Gallipoli and then on the Western Front.
Bob was regularly promoted, eventually reaching the rank of Lieutenant. He was shot in the back and chest during the Battle of Pozieres and later received a flesh wound to the chest.
In May 1918 he was wounded at Ville-sur-Ancre, this time receiving severe wounds to the left leg, which fractured his tibia and fibula. This left him with one leg shorter than the other, which caused him difficulty for the rest of his life.
Bob returned to Australia in early 1919 and settled in Benalla where he became manager of the Victorian Produce Company. From 1928, he was a partner in Bourke and Thewlis, a local stock and station agency. He died at Mooroopna, near Shepparton in July 1952 and is buried in Melbourne Cemetery.
This is an extract from Patrick Ferry’s book A Century After The Guns Fell Silent – Remembering the Pakenham District’s WWI Diggers 1914-18.
For more details on this and other profiles in the book, head to the website www.pakenhamww1.com
