Jason’s brilliant career began in Bourke

There’s an old saying - you can take the boy out of Bourke, but you can’t take Bourke out of the boy, and that is certainly true of one of one of the most important bureaucrats within the enormous NSW Roads and Maritime Services.

The man tasked with improving road management, traveller information and road safety across the state is former Bourke boy, Jason Gordon.

Jason’s career began when he was given a scholarship from the Bourke Shire Council when he graduated from Bourke High School, and he credits that scholarship for his career – a career that now has Jason occupying one of the most important positions in the super department that literally keeps NSW moving.

“It was definitely Bourke that shaped my engineering career,” Jason said.

“I was the only person in my year at Bourke High doing Physics and Chemistry and I had to do those subjects by correspondence.

“I wanted to continue my studies at University, but mum and dad weren’t that well off and the only way I could do that was through a scholarship, so I wrote to Mayor Wally Mitchell at the Bourke Shire Council and he asked me to come to a council meeting and explain why I deserved to get one.

“They decided I was worth the risk and I credit that support from the Council for where I am today.

“When I moved to Sydney to study at UTS, I had never caught a bus or a train on my own before. Now I’m responsible for a major part of how our roads and transport system operate, which is pretty amazing!”

Read more in the printed edition of the Western Herald.