March. April 79T
HE ROUTE in this story follows roads
between the towns of Broken Hill,
Wilcannia, Menindee and White Cliff s,
and Mutawintji National Park. Bindara Station
is south of Menindee on the Darling River.(^1) MAIDENS HOTEL: Burke and Wills visited
this Menindee hotel on 14 October 1860 on
their ill-fated journey from Melbourne to the
Gulf of Carpentaria.
(^2) BURKE AND WILLS CAMPSITE:
When the expedition reached Menindee,
the deputy leader George Landells resigned.
On 19 October 1860, Burke split the party,
heading north to Cooper Creek with half the
men, stores and animals. Those left made a
depot camp on Pamamaroo Creek for a year.
It’s near the weir on the lake’s south-east side.
(^3) MENINDEE INLET WEIR: From this high
point, just off Menindee Road at Copi Hollow,
you can see the expanse of Lake Menindee
(either empty or full) and giant crosses that
have been placed by protesters against the
allocation of water to users along the
Darling River.
(^4) SUNSET STRIP: This is the rather romantic
name given to ‘waterfront’ homes in the area
of Lakeview and Kingfi sher avenues, on the
northern shores of Lake Menindee, about
20km by road north-west of town. There are
about 120 weekenders here.
(^5) KINCHEGA NATIONAL PARK: Camp
beside the Darling River among the majestic
river red gums of this 44,000ha park. Short
walks lead to historic homestead ruins, scar
trees and middens.
(^6) PS PROVIDENCE WRECK: In 1872
the boiler on the riverboat PS Providence
exploded, killing all but one on board. The
explosion was so loud it was heard in the
Kinchega Woolshed kilometres away, and
was so powerful that it reportedly ejected
the ship’s cook up into a tree.
(^7) CAMELEER GRAVE: This is the fi nal
resting place of a camel handler
on the Burke and Wills expe-
dition, Dost Mahomet, had
his arm ripped off by a bull
camel near Innamincka and
was sent back to Menindee,
where he became a baker.
MENINDEE
(^8) KINCHEGA WOOLSHED: Built in 1875
from corrugated iron and river red gum,
the woolshed is a well-preserved piece of
Australian pastoral heritage: more than
6 million sheep were sheared here during
its 97-year history.
Outback NSW has many
camping grounds suitable
for tents or motorhomes.
These sites off er cabins.
Bindara Station: These
converted drovers’ and
shearers’ quarters on the
Darling’s western banks,
between Menindee and
Pooncarie, off er great
outback hospitality. You
can also stay as a
volunteer helper.
bindarastation.
com
Wilcannia: Warrawong
on the Darling has
self-contained cab-
ins on a billabong
near town.
Don’t miss the
exposed geo-
logical reef on
a river bend
and the river
red gum with
rope marks where
paddle-steamers tied up
in the 1800s.
facebook.com/
warrawongonthedarling
White Cliff s: The
Underground Motel is on
the bucket list for
many. Closed
Nov–Apr.
under-
groundmotel.
com.au
Broken Hill:
The Broken Hill
Outback Resort,
just out of town in the re-
stored Mt Gipps Hotel, is
a great base for day trips.
brokenhilloutbackresort.
com.au
OUTBACK BEDS
8