Since copper was discovered here in 1869, COBAR, just under 160km south of Bourke and the first real stop on the Barrier Highway between Nyngan and Broken Hill, has experienced three mining booms. Today, it’s home to the vast CSA Mine, said to be the most highly mechanized in Australia, extracting about 850,000 tonnes of copper every year. Earlier booms resulted in a number of impressive public buildings, among them the 1882 courthouse and the police station, as well as the Great Western Hotel on Marshall Street, whose iron-lace verandahs are said to be the longest in the state. Cobar’s most recent industry is emu farming: as more and more restaurants serve up bush tucker, the big birds are in demand. Most people only stop here to refuel before the monotonous 250km stretch to Wilcannia, and the town offers little to entice you otherwise. There is, however, a lovely picnic spot in Drummond Park, just off the highway on Linsley Street.