Menindee, from where Burke & Wills set out...
Menindee (pop ~500) was the first town, in about 1861, to be established on the Darling River, no doubt displacing the Barkindji people who had occupied the area for tens of thousands of years. The region was attractive to indigenous peoples because of the river and, particularly, its massive lake system. Kinchega National Park now encompasses many of the lakes. Menindee's most famous visitors were Burke and Wills whose ill-fated expedition in 1861 intended to traverse the continent northwards and return led to tragedy. This visit was our third attempt in recent years, the previous two having been abandoned due to COVID and floods. We came not for the town, which is just another struggling outback town, but to see those magnifient Menindee Lakes. The name `Menindee` stems from the Barkindji language.
It was in August 1860, when Robert O`Hara Burke and William John Wills set out one of Australia`s most infamous exploration expeditions, aiming to cross the continent vertically from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Initially, the journey was challenging but manageable; however, as they pushed northwards into the harsh and arid interior, conditions worsened. The team faced extreme heat, scarce water, and logistical difficulties, which slowed their progress. By April 1861, they reached the small Arnhem Land settlement at Cooper Creek, but it was too late to turn back due to dwindling supplies. Burke, Wills, and two other men pushed ahead to find a route to the coast, but they became stranded in the desert and the mangroves and never made it to the actual sea. Failing to take good advice from aboriginals, tragically, Burke and Wills died from starvation and dehydration in June 1861, while their companions failed to make an effective rescue attempt.
A crayfish adorns the Menindee sign on the road from Broken Hill. [2630]
Part of a magnificent 2011 bas relief sculpture by Ross Bastiaan outside the Menindee Maidens Hotel from where Burke & Wills set out on their tragic journey. [2279]
The Maidens Hotel, backing onto the Darling River, is the hub of Menindee, and was the stepping off point for Burke & Wills fateful expedition. [2283]
Pelicans socialising on a part submerged dead tree in Menindee Lake. [2641]
The Darling River, ever drab, is crossed at Menindee by this bridge, dated 1976. The first bridge here was constructed in 1927 replacing an 1862 punt nearby. . [2246]
The dam that controls the channel running from Lake Menindee to Lake Pamamaroo. [2663]
Pelican in flight over Lake Menindee. [2666]
Bleached bones of roadkill, and the vast open plains between Menindee and Broken Hill. [2672]
Menindee Itself
We hoped to drive to Menindee down the River Run direcly from Wilcannia, but there had been rain and the NSW road condition website warned us not to attempt it. A policeman we bumped into in the Wilcannia cafe reinforced that message: `you'll get bogged` he said. So to stay on the bitumen, we drove an extra 200km via Broken Hill which gave us the chance to buy provisions. Menindee is quite small, about a dozen streets, but is strategically located on the Darling River and on the main trans-continental railway line. Like other outback towns we found it to be mostly tidy. It was very quiet - there seemed to be few people about, including children. Being school holidays, maybe some residents have gone bush? Of course there was the pub, Maiden`s, but little else was open: a pizza shop was open all day (and did breakfast pizzas which we decided not to partake in), and we found a friendly cafe which not only had an espresso machine but made bacon and egg rolls. The supermarket had depressingly little stock, and had an eatery on the side which was only open for lunch for a very limted menu. Another pub, the Albermarle, looked so unwelcoming, we're not sure it was operating at all!
Amid not much accommodation in town is the Burke & Wills Menindee Motel, strategically located directly opposite Maiden`s Hotel. We finally got to meet the proprietor, Darryl, after having booked with him by phone twice in previous years, and then had to cancel, due to the pandemic and then due to flooding which closed all the roads in Kinchega National Park, so no point going! The motel was of the `brown` variety in a U shape which wrapped around the parking area. The B&W was quite busy because it seemed to be putting up workers laying cables (NBN?) and we saw them at work around the town. We got the motel`s accessible room, so we were annoyed by the flappy shower curtain in the bathroom.
Menindee is a cross-roads in the outback south-east of the much bigger town of Broken Hill. [2259]
No doubt to encourage community in Menindee, the Australian Department of Agriculture Water and Environment sponsored a display of local artists work. There must be a hundred or more all over the town, many from children and mostly indigenous people, by the look of it. [2262]
Study in steel walling and fencing at a Menindee warehouse. [2261]
Starkly lit in the late afternoon sun, a well populated cactus garden near the Albermarle Hotel. [2269]
The Red Sands Takeaway is the only cafe operating in Menindee. We had breakfast and good coffee there every morning. The staff included, we were pleased to see, some indigenous workers. [2288]
Rustic wall along the side of the only cafe we could find open in Menindee. [2272]
Attending to the oven in Menindee`s pizza shop. [2275]
The old post office building in Menindee is still functioning as the town`s PO. [2472]
A bit untidy, but this is Menindee`s only service station. [2634]
Not a galah in sight - a study of Menindee`s overhead power poles and lines. [2636]
Street map of Menindee. We couldn't find the old paddlesteamer wharf, nor the 1890 flood level tree, and we didn't manage to see any train coming through town. But a pleasant town to walk around, with wide flat streets, and not too many threatening dogs. [3425]
Proving that the Darling River is alive, and populated with fish, all around Menindee we saw lots of pelicans cruising the muddy waters.. [2255]
A very plain sight is Menindee railway station, but it is a stop on the once weekly passenger service from Sydney to Broken Hill. The line was completed in 1919. Trains carried water from Menindee Lakes to Broken Hill until 1960 when a pipeline was completed. Ironically, the last water train was derailed by flooding! [2456]
This bridge at Menindee to cross the Darling River opened in 1927 and was used for both road and rail, now only rail. It also opened for paddlesteamers, but the last of those passed in 1942. [2458]
At last we made it to Darryl`s Burke & Wills Menindee Motel, very conveniently located directly opposite the pib. [2242]
The Lakes Surrounding Menindee
Menindee Lakes are effectively a flood catchment for the Darling River. They were last filled in 2021, the previous time being more than a decade earlier. The main lakes are Wetherell, Pamamaroo, Menindee and Cawndilla. The area include vast wetlands, lakes, and dry salt flats. This area is the reason we came here, being particularly beautiful. Waterbirds proliferate in the lakes, although we hardly saw any during our visits. Dawns and dusks may have been more productive in this context. In thier natural setting, the lakes would drain as flooding receded, but from 1949 to 1968, a system of levees, dams, gates and channels were built by the NSW Government to manage the waterway so as to mitigate flooding, assist farming and irrigation, and to provide water supplies to Broken Hill and nearby towns in South Australia and Victoria. Unsurprisingly, these interventions have compromised the ecology of the lakes or the Darling River. Their shallow rims of are liberally scattered with dead black trees, leading to iconic photographic images of their appearances.
The iconic view of Menindee Lakes, dead and now partially submerged Black Box trees. They have died due to prolonged drought conditions. [2415]
View of Cawndilla Creek in Kinchega National Park showing the dead Black Box trees. [0934]
By the edge of Lake Cawndilla in the Menindee Lakes system. [2437]
Dead Black Box trees on the edge of Lake Cawndilla. [2438]
Pelicans socialising on a part submerged dead tree in Menindee Lake. [2641]
Kinchega National Park
Kinshega National Park, easily accessed from Menindee township, is renowned for its unique landscape and rich biodiversity and encompasses much of the Menindee Lakes system. The terrain features expansive plains, floodplains, and low sandstone hills, offering a striking contrast to the arid surroundings. The park is noted as a vital habitat for numerous bird species, including waterfowl, raptors, and migratory birds. Additionally, native animals such as kangaroos, emus, and reptiles inhabit the area. The wetlands serve as important breeding grounds, especially during seasonal floods. Remnants of a previous huge sheepstation, especially a magnificent woolshed, have been preserved in the park.
Galah in flight near Menindee. [2301]
The galahs` really enjoyed the melons they found by the road in Kinchega National Park. [2320]
Wild emu`s abound in the NSW outback. These two were near the aptly named Emu Lake near Menindee. [2326]
This flock of emus are clearly checking us out, wondering why we were here. [2342]
Nice reflections in the Darling in Menindee indicate an almost complete lack of flow in this troubled, over-exploited river. [2371]
Ruins of a regulator which allowed the flooded Darling to replenish a billabong at the Kinchega Homestead, then trapped the water in dry spells. [2373]
Pelicans thrive in the Darling River, no matter how unappetising it looks. Their main diet is fish, Golden Perch, Murray Cod, Spangled Perch, Silver Perch, and Carp Gudgeon. [2375]
Steam boilers must have been the workhorse of the late 19th Century. You see abandoned hulks everywhere around old outback settlements. [2387]
Markers on a flood level tree along Kinshega National Park`s River Road show that 1976 was the worst. [2391]
It's hard to believe that paddlesteamers plied the Darling, a river known for drying up into a long string of water-holes. [2392]
Only the boiler remains of the 78t paddlesteamer Providence which exploded here killing almost everyone on board in Nov 1872. It had been stranded here for a year due to low river levels when the drunken crew fired it up forgetting to refill it with water. [2393]
Three emus enjoying a drink in an almost dried up waterhole in Kinchega. [2396]
No better place to fish than on the Darling River in Kinchega. [2409]
The fishing must be OK in the Darling, because all of the pelicans seem to be having a good time. [2411]
The dunny at this remote picnic spot in Kinchega National Park is proof that even outback toilets can have style. [2414]
The iconic view of Menindee Lakes, dead and now partially submerged Black Box trees. They have died due to prolonged drought conditions. [2415]
View of Cawndilla Creek in Kinchega National Park showing the dead Black Box trees. [0934]
The very pleasant Morton Boulka picnic area alongside Cawndilla Creek in Kinchega National Park has shelter, a barbeque and a toilet. [5253]
Just one example of the flowering gums seen along the banks of the Darling River. [2433]
Lake Drive in Kinchega National Park was partly closed due to rain, but this part of it looks to be just abandoned. [2434]
By the edge of Lake Cawndilla in the Menindee Lakes system. [2437]
Dead Black Box trees on the edge of Lake Cawndilla. [2438]
Not sure what these melons are, but they are plentiful beside roads in Kinchega National Park, and they sure are popular tucker for galahs and other birdlife. [2442]
Galahs in flight over Kinchega, that magnificent pink colour under their wings! Amazing how they chatter while in the air. [2452]
Kinchega Woolshed
Deep in the Kinchega National Park is its heritage listed (1999) woolshed, dating back to the 1850`s when the station there was called Menindel. The shed was restored in 1993 for its current use as a museum within the park. In 1883, the woolshed served a station running 160,000 sheep, and 73 men were employed there https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinchega_Woolshed. A manager there, William Wright, accompanied the Burke & Wills expedition as #3 in command, and suffers almost all the blame for the disastrous conclusion.
Now unused except as a museum, the Kinchega Woolshed sheared 6 million sheep in its day. [2355]
An old woolpress inside the Kinchega woolshed. [2360]
The woolshed`s sweating pens, where sheep are dried if coming in wet and kept warm afterwards. [2363]
Showing the chutes to despatch the freshly shorn sheep. The original woolshed was built of river redgum, and, inside over the years, all techniques were employed for shearing - blade, steam, kerosene, electrical. [2365]
Old boiler from a steam engine used at the Kinchega woolshed, around 1875. [2366]
The cookhouse is among several outhouses to the Kinchega woolshed. This restored building is still used as a kitchen. [2367]
All that remains of the 1850`s Kinchega sheep-station homestead, bricks scattered everywhere and the base of a chimney. The house was abandoned in 1956 after a flood. [2382]
The billabong at the old Kinchega Homestead, kept topped up by a regulator from the nearby River Darling. [2384]
One of millions of River Redgums along the banks of the Darling. [2386]
