Blue Wren Cottage

Coolabah:

Coolabah, located on the Mitchell Highway 76km North of Nyngan and 650km north west of Sydney, is a small hamlet that grew as a result of the establishment of a rail siding in September of 1884; the railway was pushing north-westward to Bourke as a way to gain economic control of the upper Darling region of NSW as most trade was undertaken down the Darling River and on to either Adelaide or up the Murray from Wentworth to Echuca.

The town took its name from a nearby property called 'Coolabah' which had been named after the coolibah trees which grew in abundance in the area. It was named by Louisa Poplin who was the wife of Albert Poplin who owned the property.

With the establishment of the Railway Station, local merchant Charles Werner built the ‘Three Legs O’Man’ Hotel which serviced the Cobb & Co coaches as well as the rail passengers.
Coolibah was once reputed to having the largest well in Australia (measuring  30 metres across and 14 metres deep) – essential for the town as it was the only water source.

At its peak, Coolibah boasted a population of 300 but today there are around 30 – testament to the changing economic times over the last 100 years that has shaped much of rural Australia.
While some may describe it a Ghost town; it is none the less an integral part of our pastoral history and it are these gems that always warrant a stop.

Nyngan:

Nyngan is a charming and prosperous town on the Bogan River 583 km north-west of Sydney. The town is sustained by the rich sheep & cattle grazing and wheat harvests which occur on the properties in the district. The town's pain and fame, particularly in recent times, has been connected to the Bogan River.

The river is actually an unreliable water source and in 1942 a reliable canal from the Macquarie River was established. Still in 1990 the town became famous around Australia when the Bogan experienced a once-in-a-century flood. The townspeople laid 260 000 sandbags on top of the established levee but the waters inundated the entire town, causing $50 million worth of damage. Two thousand people were airlifted by helicopter out of the town.

Today there is an easy charm about the town. It is worth stopping on the banks of the Bogan and thinking about how the river has washed across the entire town.

It is equally interesting to drive along Bogan Street and be reminded of the historic nature of the town. The post office, court house, town hall, Anglican and Catholic churches and a number of private homes are a reminder that once Nyngan was a major rail centre for the whole of north-west New South Wales.

Visitor Information Centre:
12 Old Warren Road
Nyngan, NSW 2825
Website
Telephone: 02 6832 2335

Bourke:

“if you know Bourke, you know Australia” so wrote the famous Australian poet Henry Lawson in 1882. Bourke is not merely a town but a region that is the figurative demarcation between Outback Australia and the east. Anything to the west is colloquially referred to as the 'Back o Bourke'; a term etched deeply in the Australian psyche meaning to be a long way away from anything. On the contrary, Bourke may be a distance from 'civilisation' but the further out you go the closer you get to the essence of this land. Maybe that is what Lawson was alluding.

By the 1890's, Bourke was a major port for the transport of the southern Queensland and northern NSW wool clip that was transported down the Darling to the Murray River and onto Adelaide or up the Murray to Echuca for rail transport to Melbourne for ship transport overseas.

The Port of Bourke was the focus of the world’s wool industry with up to 80 riverboats servicing the region and at one time it was one of the largest in the world. but the opening of the rail system in Australia and the unreliability of the river flow saw the gradual demise of the 'River Highway' by the early 20th century.

This by no means spelt the end of Bourke and today it is a town that still, in essence, is the same it was back then; a town on the edge of the wilderness with great historical, cultural and geographic significance.

Located where the Kidman Way meets the Darling River, Bourke is a town firmly etched in Australian folklore and is the ideal access point for The Darling River Run. Bourke provides a true outback experience to all who visit Bourke.

The recently (re)opened 'Back of Bourke' Centre has been redeveloped as a world class facility nestled in a spectacular natural setting amongst the river red gums on the banks of the Darling River.

Visitor Information Centre:
Railway Station Building
Anson Street Bourke 2840

Website
Telephone: 02 68721222

Macquarie Marshes:

The Macquarie Marshes, a semi-permanent wetland region of northwest New South Wales which bisected by the Macquarie River, exist due to the irregular flooding of the floodplain along the Macquarie River and provide essential habitat for and breeding ground for an extensive array of bird species (60 species sighted and 40 recorded as breeding in the wetlands including Ibis, Egrets, Cormorants, Spoonbills and Herons. The wetland system covers an area of 220,000 hectares and is characterised largely by beautiful River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulenis) and Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

The Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve covers almost 20,000 hectares (about 10% of the Macquarie Marshes floodplain and is made up of North and South Marsh, in addition to a third small reserve.
The significance of the area has been recognised via it being listed as a wetland of international importance in 1986 under the Ramsar Convention of 1971 and included on the Register of the National Estate, the Register of the National Trust of Australia, and the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.