Menindee is an historic town on the edge of the desert. The countryside here is flat and arid and barely supports grazing, although Menindee itself is surrounded by citrus orchards and vegetable cultivation. If desert and fruit-growing sound incompatible, then one has to remember that Menindee is also surrounded by some 20 lakes fed by the Darling River. It is a weird experience to drive through land which is so marginal that you wonder whether it ever rains, and then to suddenly come across vast freshwater lakes full of dead trees and surrounded by sand, saltbush and inhospitable red soils.
Where is it?: Menindee is located 1106 km north-west of Sydney via the Great Western, Mitchell and Barrier Highways and 70 m above sea-level. Menindee is 111 km south-east of Broken Hill along a sealed road and, or 143 km south-west of Wilcannia on a mostly unsealed road.
Menindee has two historic trees - one marked by a survey team in 1882 and one in Yartla St to mark the height of the 1890 floods. At the Maidens Hotel, also in Yartla St, you used to be able to see the arrow Burke and Wills carved in the door post indicating the direction their journey would pursue. For many years the room the two men stayed in was preserved for visitors.
Fishing in the Lakes: Menindee is considered one of the finest freshwater fishing spots in NSW. Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch, European carp, crayfish and catfish are in abundant supply along the Darling and in the lakes. If you are interested in a fishing or birdwatching trip in the area, phone Geoff Looney on (02) 8091 4437. A more comprehensive tour though the town's history, waterways and other natural sights is on offer from Burke and Wills Hire Boat Expeditions (02) 8091 4383.
The lake system has become a tourist attraction and recreational facility for the people of Broken Hill and Menindee. 8 km north of Menindee on the Broken Hill Rd there is a signposted right turn to Lake Pamamaroo and the Main Weir. There are recreational facilities at both sites. A plaque on a tree, at the weir, indicates the location of the Burke and Wills campsite. On Pamamaroo Creek is the site of the base camp of the 1860 Burke and Wills expedition. The expedition party included 15 men, 23 horse, 27 camels and 21 tons of stores. At the time of Burke's arrival in Menindee it was an outpost with no other settlements between here and the vast interior. On 19 October the small party of Burke, Wills, Brahe, King, Gray, McDonagh, Patton and Dost Mahomet, 15 horses and 16 camels left the Pamamaroo camp and headed north. The balance of the expedition party stayed for the next year.
13 km north of Menindee on the Broken Hil Rd, just before you cross the interconnecting channel between Lake Menindee and Pamamaroo Lake, there is a signposted right turn on an all-weather road which leads to Copi Hollow: an artificially constructed body of water developed for speed boats, sailing, swimming and waterskiing. The inland speed championships are held here each year in mid-May. There is a well-shaded shoreline park with picnic facilities, amenities block and a caravan park. To get there follow the Broken Hill Rd out of Menindee for 13 km then take the signposted right turn just before you cross the interconnecting channel between Lakes Menindee and Pamamaroo.
Historically the Darling River has been associated with the Barkindji Aboriginal people who travelled its length 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 Barkindji place name 'Minandichee'.
It is thought by some that the first Europeans in the immediate vicinity, the 1835 party of Major Thomas Mitchell, laid the foundations for what turned out to be disastrous relations with the Aborigines. Mitchell followed the Bogan and Darling rivers down to Menindee and the surrounding lakes, which he named Laidley's Chain of Ponds after the deputy commisary-general of NSW (the Barkindji called them 'Wontanella' meaning 'many waters'). Charles Sturt travelled up the Darling from the Murray in 1844 during his exploration of the interior. He arrived at the site of Menindee in 1844 and then headed north-west.
As pastoralists, drovers and shepherds followed in the wake of the explorers frequent and violent conflict arose with the Aborigines. The whites encroached upon traditional hunting grounds and raped the black women. The Aborigines killed and ate white stock, attacked droving camps and stole station food and stores. The trouble was serious enough to cause drovers to shun the area and landowners to abandon their properties, at least until 1853 when police were brought in to secure the area. Afterwards the tide turned against the Barkindji who were subsequently decimated by European disease, forcibly driven from the land and moved to government missions at Menindee, Lake Cargelligo and Ivanhoe.
The first settler in and effective founder of Menindee was Tom Pain and his family who arrived in 1852, determined to establish a home and business on the river. He opened the Menindee Hotel the following year. With numerous additions it is still open and considered the second-oldest hotel still in continuous operation in NSW. It is now known as Maiden's Menindee Hotel for the simple reason that it was owned, from 1896 to 1979, by the Maiden family. It burnt down a couple of years ago and a more modern hotel now replaces the original and historic building.
Captain Francis Cadell, who pioneered the operation of river steamers along the Murray, established a store near the hotel at Menindee in 1856. It was named Wurtindelly after the Aboriginal word for the sand ridges on which it was built. These two buildings became the nucleus around which the town grew. Although not the first to navigate the Darling, Cadell is the first whose name is recorded.� Burke and Wills reached Kinchega station in October 1860 on their expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria. They journeyed on to Menindee by steamer, stayed at the Menindee Hotel then continued north.
The 1860s and 1870s were a period of expansion for the town. However, when gold and other mineral finds were made to the north in the late 1870s and 1880s, employees along the Darling chased the new prospects and Wilcannia displaced Menindee as the main river port and business centre. Consequently, Menindee slowed down to become a service and community centre to the surrounding district. John Cleary of Menindee started the first motorised postal service in NSW in 1910, although the contract stipulated that his lorry be followed by a coach-and-horses in case it broke down! When this system proved uneconomical he reverted to the horse-and-coach until allowed to use the lorry on its own in 1911.
As early as 1894 plans were put forward for conservation of the resource but a water storage scheme was not implemented until 1949 (completed in 1960). The current storage capacity is 1 794 000 megalitres, 3.5 times the volume of Sydney Harbour and covering eight times its area. Lake Menindee, the largest, is 16 x 14 km in surface area. The purpose of the scheme is the provision of regulated flows for water supply and irrigation. A pipeline which runs from Menindee provides Broken Hill with a regular supply of water.
