Menindee Lakes

October 02, 2020

Wednesday 16 September

Today we had booked a tour out to Menindee. The lakes system and Darling River have a chequered history due to drought and man-made restrictions to water flows. Menindee Lake is dry and is not likely to ever fill again. This is bad news for those people who have property at Sunset Strip – Broken Hill’s holiday location on the lake in days gone by – now almost a ghost town. Indigenous locals would also be feeling the loss of this massive billabong.

Quick stop at a Burke & Wills camp site

Map of lakes system

The main weir across the Darling River

View out across the dry and empty Menindee Lake

This thistle flower is now taking over in the area

This drawn map shows a little more detail of the area

Copi Hollow is a man-made body of water which was created by accident when workers on a channel built to siphon water from the Darling River, created a channel of their own and the lake was created. It is the only lake which allows water sports.

Copi Hollow, now the main holiday spot

Pamamaroo Lake currently has water in it and is kept for recreational fishing only. Only small boats allowed. Camping is popular along the banks. We had our morning tea stop her and it was so peaceful.

Wetherill Lake is full and runs up a long way towards Wilcannia.

So this river and lake (read billabong) system is vast.

We had lunch in the café which serves the town of Menindee. It was very busy, lots of locals coming and going. Then we headed for Kinchega National Park to see some of the weirs on the Darling River and the historic Woolshed. Kinchega was the name of the property which once covered this area, but it was bequeathed to the National Parks system to preserve the area.

Sadly, the original Maidens Hotel burned down. Burke & Wills stayed here before setting off on their ill-fated trek north

More on Burke & Wills

Information outside the Maidens Hotel about the expedition

Route taken by Burke & Wills north from Menindee between 1860 and 1861

Historic Woolshed in Kinchega National Park

By 1899 numbers of sheep shorn had dropped from 136,000 to 31,000. A shearer at this woolshed could shear between 60 and 80 sheep in a 10 hour day!

Stalls for the shearers

From the Woolshed we visited Weir 32 which was the first man made weir on the river built to control flow. A chance sighting as we were leaving Kinchega, an emu and three chicks. As we stopped they quickly scuttled off into the scrub.

Our last stop was to visit the place of burial of an Afghan cameleer who was part of the Burke & Wills team. He was fortunate that he was left with the remaining party, who were to await the return of the adventurers. Of course, they never did return. As a Muslim, this Afghan would come to this spot to pray each day and it was here that he was interred as, of course, he was not allowed to be buried in the Christian Cemetery. The headstone is a later addition to the spot.

Weir 32

I had made a booking at The Palace Hotel for dinner. Just as well. Many people walked in hoping to eat there but were turned away. This historic hotel was made more famous as the venue for the shows in the film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The weekend before we arrived would have been the Broken Heel Festival, held every year, to celebrate diversity in this Outback city. Sadly this is the year of COVID and many such festivals have had to be cancelled. The interior of the foyer is also famous for its murals.