Town Hall May Billet Homeless

HOMELESS people in Melbourne could soon find a bed inside the Town Hall or other council buildings, under a move by the city to provide more crisis accommodation.

Nab Stays Put At No. 500

NATIONAL Australia Bank is sticking with its long-time headquarters at 500 Bourke Street, with the group announcing it had signed a 12-year lease as ISPT's $75 million refurbishment of the building continues.

Mount Buller

Expert skiing comments by Jim Darby; snowboarding by Craig Tansley; dining and accommodation by David Sly.

What's New - Mount Buller

Mount Buller's lift system is a legacy of its quirky history. It had two lift operators from the late 1950s and they battled T-bar for T-bar and chair by chair for supremacy until they merged in 1985. Much of the lift system has been rationalised since, with more efficient aerial lifts replacing surface lifts. But the Bourke Street/Baldy area has had enough towers on it to run a slalom race.

Where Children Run From Playtime

A community campaign to open a refuge for at-risk children in Bourke is mired in red tape, write Jordan Baker and Joel Gibson.

A Few Trees Still Left Standing At The Back Of Bourkes' House

JO BOURKE arrived in the Wimmera in 1977 on the back of a motorbike ridden by her then boyfriend, a new teacher at Murtoa High School.

Low-key Elegance

Somerset Gordon Place, Little Bourke Street, city

Room For Hotel Improvements

The Commonwealth Games promises to boost an already burgeoning accommodation industry

The Couple Who Bought The Bank

FROM where Chris Ware and Kristie Smiles started, it's been a slow but exciting journey to their outback guesthouse at Bourke.

Three Of A Kind - On Snowy Bourke Street, Mount Buller

MERCURE GRAND CHALET

Taking The High Road To The Back O' Bourke

THE acclaimed City of Newcastle RSL Pipe Band has hit a high note with the residents of a tiny town out the back of Bourke.

Long Lease Marks Capital Spot

Centrally located in Melbourne's CBD, the six-level building at 193-199 Bourke Street is fully leased to two long-standing tenants and has a current passing net rental of $391,000 per annum.

Racv Drives Forward With $165m Club Deal

RACV is about to sign a syndicated funding deal to finance its controversial new $165 million 501 Bourke Street club, which is in the first stages of construction.

East & Inenr-city Houses

Rock of ages Darlinghurst terrace sales this year Average auction price $654,000 Auction clearance rate 69 per cent Average private treaty price $619,000 Highest auction sale 85 Surrey Street, $1.41 million Source: Home Price Guide, 9339 8200 253 Bourke Street, East Sydney

City Trading And Parking

A FOUR-LEVEL office building at 174 Queen Street, Melbourne, is for private sale through Colliers Jardine (96298888) whose invitation for offers on the property close on December 18. It is expected to fetch around $3 million. Located on the eastern side of Queen Street, between Bourke and Lons

Oh My Darling

The Darling River Road epitomises the wonder and beauty of the harsh NSW outback. Michael Gebicki reports. CUTTING a slash across western NSW, the Darling River Road follows the course of the Darling from Bourke to Wentworth a journey still rich with memories of the time when the paddle steamer

Town Of 25 Has 500 For Dinner

THIS year's NSW Tidy Town awards dinner will be no junket for the 500 or so council delegates and MPs expected to attend. To be held at Byrock, a tiny speck on the map 80km south of Bourke in the red soil country of far western NSW, there's no five-star accommodation. In fact, there's no acco

Make The Customer Come Back

This is the second in a two-part series on reviving rural communities and economies by Winsome Byrne. "PEOPLE can buy a loaf of bread anywhere," says Mark Morrall, a fourth-generation baker in Bourke. "But it is the atmosphere and service that keep them coming back." Morral

Four-wheeled Five Star The Car As Accommodation

Holden Suburban Price: From $67,990 As a place to sleep, the Suburban has one thing going for it: size. Come to think of it, sheer bulk is about its only virtue as a vehicle. The big Chevrolet wagon (sold here by GM affiliate Holden) is ostensibly a 4WD, but it is wider than most bush tracks

Bright White, Big City

MOUNT BULLER boss and building giant Rino Grollo once walked down Bourke Street in his boxer shorts when he lost a bet that Mount Buller would get a foot of fresh snow overnight. But the Bourke Street of his chilling dare wasn't in the middle of Melbourne, it was on Grollo's beloved Mount Bulle