Outback Towns

Wentworth

At the junction of Australia's two greatest rivers you'll discover a colourful river-boat history as well as iconic Australian Aboriginal sites.

About Wentworth

At the junction of Australia’s two greatest rivers you’ll discover a colourful river-boat history as well as iconic Australian Aboriginal sites.

Wentworth attractions

Say ‘Hello, Darling’ from the observation tower, where Australia’s two greatest rivers – the Darling and the Murray – meet.

Stand beneath the canopy of ‘The God Tree’, an ancient river red gum that has survived the centuries, now stranded amid rolling red sand dunes.

Climb the red dunes of the prehistoric Perry Sandhills, the backdrop for many films and commercials.

The meeting of the waters

Situated at the confluence of the Darling and Murray rivers, Wentworth is the region’s oldest town, with a fascinating history that includes explorers and the colourful river-boat trade.

The first European to arrive here was Charles Sturt, who sailed past in a whaleboat in 1830 on his second great river journey. On 23 January, he turned into ‘a new and beautiful stream’, and after a short investigative journey, he correctly identified this as the Darling River, a river he had explored the previous year. He resumed his voyage to the confluence point and named the ‘broad and noble river’ the Murray.

At the point where the two rivers meet, Junction Island Nature Reserve is a beautiful place for a stroll. A walking track around the reserve takes in a ‘canoe tree’, one of many scarred river red gums, from which the local Aboriginal people once cut bark for their canoes and utensils.

Historical links

Settled around 1840, Wentworth became the centre of a thriving river trade as paddle-steamers towed barges loaded with wool and cargo downstream to the river ports in South Australia. By the time Wentworth was declared a municipality in 1879, it was the State’s busiest inland port.

The expansion of the railway network later in the century spelt the end of Wentworth as a commercial port, but the town was left with much of its historic infrastructure intact.

Wentworth has a thriving houseboat industry, and there is no better way to explore the river than at a puttering pace in a floating home of your own, tying up to the riverbank at night and waking to the sounds of birds in the river red gums. No boat license is required, and houseboats come in all possible configurations, up to luxury models that can sleep 12.

Built in 1879–81, the Courthouse and Old Wentworth Gaol are classified by the National Trust as the country’s first Australian-designed courthouse and gaol. Last utilised as a prison in 1927, the gaol still held unwilling inmates until 1963, when it was used as extra classrooms for the Wentworth Central School.

Local heroes

At the corner of Adelaide and Adams streets is a monument to an unusual local hero, the Ferguson TEA20 tractor. During the ‘1 in 100 years’ 1956 flood, the Darling and Murray rivers peaked on the same day. Threatened by the flood waters for many months, the town was eventually saved by local returned soldiers, who used their Ferguson tractors to build a levee bank.

Another fine example of Wentworth’s civic pride, the PS Ruby is a 1907 paddle-steamer purchased by the local Rotary Club in 1968. It was donated to Wentworth in 1996. After a total overhaul by volunteers, the Ruby was restored to her former glory and refloated in 2002. Once again she cuts a majestic figure on the river.

Self drive tours around Wentworth

The incredible array of produce from this area, combined with some exceptionally talented local chefs, make cellar door tastings and local restaurants a highlight of any tour. On the Silver City Highway between Wentworth and Mildura, Dareton is at the centre of the Coomealla Irrigation Area and is best known for its superior dried fruit and wine grapes.

In Buronga, the border town across the Murray from Mildura, the Australian Inland Botanic Gardens have attracted national and international attention. Just a few kilometres upstream is the town of Gol Gol, once a staging post for the legendary Cobb & Co. coaches.

Situated 116 km north of Wentworth, Pooncarie was once a thriving Darling River port, and to many locals it’s still ‘The Port’. Stop off to absorb the atmosphere and hospitality of this genuine country town.

Rich Aboriginal heritage

Wentworth is the gateway to Mungo National Park, a World Heritage Area and a remarkable corner of the State.

Before the last Ice Age, much of this area was covered by the Willandra Lakes, and today these vast, dry lake beds provide a snapshot that has helped unravel some of the mysteries of Aboriginal life in Australia as much as 60,000 years ago. Aboriginal people have always lived along our great waterways. Their knowledge of the landscape and its plants and animals has been passed down in stories over many thousands of years. Harry Nanya Tours, an Aboriginal tour operator, has earned many accolades for its excellent interpretative tours based on traditional knowledge. For anyone who wants a unique perspective on this special part of NSW Outback, this is the perfect choice.

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