Milparinka, NSW

Milparinka is a very isolated and very small town near the isolated corner of the states of New South wales, Queensland and South Australia. The Karenggapa people traditionally occupied the far northwest corner of NSW at this locality.




The town's name comes from Aboriginal lore. Eons ago, a young aboriginal man eloped with his bride-to-be. They found a water hole along a gum tree-lined creek, and called the place Milparinka.

Charles Sturt reached the Darling River near Bourke in 1829 but did not venture further west until 1844-45 when his expedition became trapped near Milparinka from February to July 1845 due to drought. James Poole, a member of the expedition, died there and was buried near Mt Poole, just northwest of Milparinka.

Sturt's problems with drought did not discourage squatters from settling along the Darling River between 1847-1857. Pastoralists had ventured into the bioregion by 1878, taking up huge runs in order to support their sheep and cattle. Most of this land was occupied under pastoral leases during the 1880s and although overstocking occurred across the far west, droughts at the turn of the century tended to reduce grazing capacities in the area.

Dingoes proved to be a problem for pastoralists as they, along with the droughts, reduced sheep numbers until dingo fences were built and a strategic hunting program was undertaken. Gold was discovered at Mt Poole and Mt Brown near Milparinka in 1880, stimulating a short period of mining success in the area, and by 1890 the population of the area was large enough to warrant the publication of a local newspaper, the Milparinka Advertiser. Tibooburra, like many other towns far removed from the major rivers, owes its existence to mineral discovery.

Sir Sidney Kidman was one of the great pastoralists of the far northwest corner of NSW. He worked on several stations in the 1870s and 1880s and learnt the ways of the land, often with the aid of a local Aborigine. Kidman was successful in his attempts to connect Tibooburra with towns along the Darling and Gipps Station (what was to become Broken Hill) via supply routes. Cobb and Co. coaches linked Milparinka to Wilcannia in 1883.

Fourteen kilometres north west of Milparinka lies Depot Glen, the famous place of explorer Charles Sturt's camp, and location of the remarkably well preserved cairn top of Mt Poole. Sturt and his expedition ventured into the region now known as the Corner Country in 1845. The region was in severe drought and the summer was unbearably hot. For several months the group camped beside the water hole in a rocky basalt glen now known as Depot Glen. Many of the men were suffering from scurvy. By the time the rains finally came in July, James Poole, Sturt's second in command, was very ill. He died just a few days after the expedition broke camp to continue their search for an inland sea. Poole's body was buried beneath a beefwood tree not far from their campsite at Depot Glen.

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