Gateway to outback NSW and Aboriginal Australia
Murrin Bridge has close links with its immediate neighbours, Lake Cargelligo and Euabalong, about 15km away in opposite directions. Both have significant Aboriginal populations, and many people in Murrin Bridge work or go to school in Lake Cargelligo. Family and cultural connections, however, extend far beyond the immediate neighbourhood, to towns such as Brewarrina, Menindee, Wilcannia, and Mildura, and the traditional homelands of the Ngiyampaa, Paakintji and Wiradjuri tribes from which most people in Murrin Bridge are descended.
The traditional country of the Ngiyampaa, for example, stretches across the dry plains between Mildura and Bourke, while the Paakintji lived along the banks of the Darling River and Wiradjuri country stretched from the Lachlan River all the way to the slopes of the Blue Mountains. Taken together, these traditional tribal areas include places of enormous significance to Aboriginal history and culture such as Mutawintji, Lake Mungo, Mount Grenfell, Mount Gundabooka, and many others. This is a region rich in the history of a human civilisation which preceded the arrival of James Cook by tens of thousand of years, and Murrin Bridge is a perfect place to begin exploring it.
It is often said that the true outback begins at the "back of Bourke" but much the same could be said of Murrin Bridge which is located right between farming country and wilderness. Tourism is important to this region, and visitors are very welcome, especially if they take the trouble to find out about its history and culture rather than just pass through an "empty landscape". This page contains descriptions and photos of many places in outback New South Wales with direct or indirect connections to Murrin Bridge, and from here you can find information about how to get there, where to stay, and how to find knowledgeable Aboriginal guides who can make all the difference between a few photos of the "been there, done that" kind and a real appreciation of the area visited.