Wests Archive would like to thank Ken Bourke for generously contributing his time and information in the preparation of this profile.
Ken Bourke was born in the far western NSW town of Bourke. He was five years old when he moved with his parents to the NSW mid north coast town of Taree. At primary school, Ken excelled academically but was also recognised as an all-round athlete.
He came to notice as a junior rugby league player in the Taree Zebra’s under eleven team. Ken scored more than half of the teams points during the 1968 season.
Ken would go on and represent the North Coast before joining Wests in 1977. He was with Wests for two seasons before linking with Wests Wollongong. Ken returned to Sydney and played with the Ryde Eastwood club before returning to his home town of Taree.
After retiring, Ken coached at junior level before taking on leadership roles with the Taree junior and senior rugby league teams.
