Murrin Bridge Aboriginal Community
Murrin Bridge Aboriginal Community is located where the fertile farming belts of the western slopes and the Riverina meet the arid, sandy plains of outback New South Wales. A day's drive from Sydney and a fair distance from the closest major urban centre, Wagga Wagga, Murrin Bridge is quite remote. The nearest cinemas and restaurants are hundreds of kilometres away, and even such basic activities as grocery shopping, a visit to the post office, or filling up at a petrol station require a 15km drive to the nearby small farming town of Lake Cargelligo.
Life in Murrin Bridge is therefore not always easy. But although lacking some of the amenities which other Australian settlements of a similar size - the population of Murrin Bridge is about 200-300 - would take for granted, the community has come a long way since the early days of the Mission with its rickety ex-military huts and barbed wire perimeter fence. Most houses are brick-built and spacious, the roads sealed and guttered, the backyards large and steps away from the bushland along the Lachlan river: Murrin Bridge people, when visiting friends in big cities like Sydney, often pity them for their cramped living conditions! There is a new pre-school building, a sports ground, a medical centre, a clean water supply.
Most importantly, all this is the result of the community's own efforts. In recent years, Murrin Bridge has become best known for its community vineyard and Murrin Bridge Wines, the first and so far only Aboriginal-owned commercial wine producer in Australia.
For Murrin Bridge is a community of many talents, from those of the hard-working labourers who built the pre-school and the new houses, to those of its artists and footballers. Nobody who spends some time with the men, women, and children of Murrin Bridge can fail to be impressed with the resourcefulness with which the people of this Aboriginal community tackle what can be difficult circumstances. These pages are dedicated to their many achievements, their history, their culture, and their aspirations.