I had been to Menindee a very long time ago but Kerry had never been there. It is truely an amazing place, especially where the Darling River has plenty of water. We were extremely lucky to be there when the Darling was flowing strongly and we even saw water flowing into Menindee Lake. It was an excellent day out.
We visited Menindee on 19 April 2021.
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting there
Broken Hill > Menindee ~110kms
History
Menindee has a rich Indigenous history. The traditional people of Menindee are the Paakantji people, who travelled the length of the Darling River from Wilcannia through Menindee and down to Wentworth. They relied upon the river for water and food, using canoes and elaborate stone traps for their fishing. The town’s name is said to derive from the Paakantji place name ‘Minandichee’.
To read more about the Aboriginal history in the area, click here
Menindee was the first town settled on the Darling River by Europeans. The first Europeans in the immediate vicinity of Menindee were the 1835 party of Major Thomas Mitchell.
To read more about the European history in the area, click here
Today Menindee has a population of about 550 and is the central place for managing the Menindee Lakes storage system. This role is supplemented by the major production of table grapes, rock melons, many varieties of apricots, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables, irrigated by the Menindee Lakes and Darling River.
The nearby Kinchega NP covers an area of 442.6 square kilometres, that runs south from Menindee Lake and townsite and west of the Darling River, incorporating Lake Cawndilla. It was resumed from the former Kinchega Station on the Darling River in 1967.
To read more about the history of the Pastoral Station, click here and scroll down
The Drive to Menindee
It is bitumen all the way, which is great for this part of the world, but its a bumpy old road. Just south of Broken Hill we cross over a small ridge, making an interesting landscape.
Closer to Menindee we saw the water pipeline from the Lakes to Broken Hill. That is being replaced by a far longer pipeline from the Murray River.
Menindee Town
We drove to the town and quickly found the tourist information office. The lady there was so enthusiastic, a joy to deal with, and she quickly outlined a detailed itinerary for our day. We would start by looking around town then go out to Kinchega NP, then explore the Lakes as we make our way out for the return trip to Broken Hill. She also told us that there was plenty of water in the system, and, amazingly, water was actually flowing into Menindee Lake, a very rare occurrence these days. It was so nice to meet someone so incredibly enthusiastic about her locality.
So we went down to look at the Menindee rail link and the railway bridge over the Darling River. The rail link was completed in 1919, and from then water was carted by rail to Broken Hill until the pipeline was built in 1960.
The bridge over the Darling was completed in 1927 and was used for road and rail transport. We walked down the banks for a bit to check out the Darling River, having not seen it so full for many a year.
We saw the post office and Maidens Hotel, which we hope to return to for lunch. The Hotel was the first business to open (then as Menindee Hotel). It’s the second oldest hotel in NSW. In 1860, Burke and Wills stayed at the hotel before the start of their ill-fated trip.
Kinchega National Park
We made our way the short distance to Kinchega, firstly to see the Historic Woolshead, unfortunately following a very slow car and van on a dusty dirt road.
The Woolshed is still a magnificent structure even though what is left is only half the original size. It provides a great glimpse into Australian pastoral history and we can imagine the heyday of this place, where six million sheep were sheared over many a year (97 in fact). It was built in 1875 of corrugated iron and river red gum and is still in great condition. And it was so nice to have a lovely warm day to thaw out our bones.
Inside we saw the wool presses and tables, the machinery room/workshop, and an original steam engine. There were also big drums for removing dirt and other particles from the wool.
Further into the building we saw the shearing stations, the sweating pens and the board where the sheep were held for shearing – keeping them dry was important for the shearing.
The long ramp leading up to the Woolshed is still as solid as a rock. It’s a fascinating place.
People can stay overnight at Kinchega Shearers’ Quarters, adjacent to the Woolshead. These offer offers basic accommodation – 4 bunks in a small room. But it is in a heritage building, so it’s a good alternative to camping, especially in winter.
A sobering part of the display talked of how the initial expectations of the pastoralists in terms of sheep production were extremely optimistic – see the next picture.
We drove back to the turnoff to the ruins of the Historic Homestead passing the completely dry Emu Lake, once a popular camping spot.
The video for this post has coverage of the Woolshed – click here
Homestead Ruins
At the Homestead, we decided to do the 2.3km Billabong Walk and went around clockwise. The walk follows a clearly marked trail around the billabong, which is dry. There are some magnificent trees on the way around, and the interpretive signs provide a window into the life and times of the people working and living on this remote station.
We then came to the Darling River, and it is a beautiful area. It is actually now a NPWS campsite and it would be wonderful to camp right there next to the Darling. There are lots of these campsites which we see later going back alongside the river.
Then we came to the ruins of the Old Kinchega Homestead. The original Homestead building stood adjacent to the River to make use of the water supply. But its location led to its demise when the building was lost in a flood. The next homestead was build on higher ground next to the billabong. What you see on site today is the ruins of the second building. We came to a boardwalk around the homestead site and interpretative panels explaining how it was set up. The kitchen and laundry were separate from the the house and meals were served a formal setting in the dining room.
The nearby Kinchega Cemetery is where a number of bodies, including children, have been buried. Unfortunately, all the graves are unmarked – with records either lost or not compiled. It’s known that the remains of those who perished in Australia’s only inland shipwreck (the PS Providence) are buried here also. At 3.00am on 9 November 1872, disaster struck when the boiler of the PS Providence exploded… killing all on board.
Baakantji families living out on stations often had substantial camps where they lived for years. At Kinchega the camp was located towards the claypans and sandy areas of the billabong. In exchange for work, they got food and tobacco rations and hand-me-down clothing from the station.
River Drive
We then went along the River Drive which is amazing. This track follows the meandering Darling River for approximately 20km. 34 camping sites are located along this stretch of river with dispersed pit toilets, picnic tables and fireplaces. Many of the River Red Gums are hundreds of years old and signs on the track warn of the dangers of camping underneath them.
We has seen the campsite at the Homestead ruins – just so peaceful and remote, and we stopped at a few others and were blown away at how stunning these campsites are – utterly beautiful. Most of the campsites look pretty spacious too – easily get a caravan in here and it would be lovely to spend some time under the river red gums.
A quite amazing sight for me, was an emu clambering down the river bank, leaping in the water and swimming across the Darling River…. never thought I’d see such a thing…. sadly, no camera was handy.
There are a few sites looking down at Weir 32 which are very special.These would be the best to camp at I think, the sound of running water and birdlife all around.
Further on, we saw an outrageous boat, with flags and sails pottering along the River. Beautifully bizarre! I think this is part of a “protest flotilla” going down the river to object to the lack of natural flows thanks to over-allocation.
On the way back into town we can across a little flock of emus. Always great to see. We had lunch at Maidens Hotel which was pretty good.
The Menindee Lakes system
Then we headed out to see the Lakes system. It’s a pretty complicated system of waterways – to read more about it click here. A map of the system follows.
We drove out to the Main Weir with, on our left, we saw a very full Pamamaroo Lake – great views and many vans and tents on the edge of the Lake.
We came to the Burke and Wills campsite.
We got to the inlet works for Lake Pamamroo – the control of flows from the Darling to the Lake. The water looks incredibly silty – I guess the Darling has picked up a lot of dirt as it hasn’t flowed this strongly for a few years now.
Then it was out to the Main Weir, the major structure that diverts water from the Darling to the Lakes.
We headed back and took the gravel road to Copi Hollow, a popular recreational lake. The road was terrible and we were crawling at times. Fortunately is was not a long drive. This is basically a caravan park which offers swimming and boating on the lake. Very green grass, but not much character.
From here we are back on the bitumen, getting to the main road back to Broken Hill. We went up to the Menindee Lookout. Here we see, amazingly, water flowing into Menindee Lake after who knows how long. We feel really privileged to be able to witness this. Privileged indeed to see this. Amazing to think as the water comes down the Darling, as far as the eye can see will be water here…
Then we drove back to Broken Hill. A really great day out.
To see photos from this blog, click here
To see videos from this blog , click here