Proud and intriguing, Brewarrina is a meeting place and home to the Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps, used by first nation people for more than 40,000 years.
In this fully-serviced Outback NSW between Bourke and Lightning Ridge, you’ll find a Foodworks, tennis courts, a caravan park and pool and the fabulous Muddy Waters cafe.
BREWARRINA ABORIGINAL FISH TRAPS TOUR
Commence your Brewarinna Aboriginal Fish Traps Tour at the Brewarrina Aboriginal Cultural Museum. Here, unearth the secrets of eight nations united by Baiame’s Ngunnhu—a meeting place and man’s oldest piece of infrastructure.
Then take a short stroll out to the river where a complex network of shallow u-shaped holding structures await. Brewarrina has a proud, and at times difficult history.
Recent rising waters the fish traps. Photo by Djanayah Jeffries courtesy of the Bre Fish Festival.
BREWARRINA ABORIGINAL CULTURAL MUSEUM
Whether on tour or at your own leisure, you can admire artefacts and trading items unique to the different nations at the Brewarrina Aboriginal Cultural Museum.
You’ll also find fossils dating to more than a hundred thousand years here and bush foods to sample or buy. Meet with Ngemba Australians to hear their story and feel their connection with the land, and interact with audio visual displays.
Beautiful curved walls foster camaraderie and provide a stunning platform for local history and art.
BRE FESTIVITIES
Given Brewarrina’s far-reaching history as a place of meeting, celebrations are forefront to local minds.
Preparations for Bre Big Fish, for example, commence months in advance, with native fish stocks strengthening the local waters. Event-goers will yield the benefits during the June long weekend each year.
And in April (please check here for the latest news), eight nations converge on the river for the Baiame’s Ngunngu Festival for local crafts, ceremonies, music and, of course, fishing and a fish feast.
The Brewarrina Cod Cup is another big date in the local calendar in May.
For a list of Bre-based events check here.
GOODOOGA ARTESIAN SPRINGS
An hour and a half from Brewarrina, ease your muscles within the 40-degree hot springs of Goodooga Artesian Springs. Always open, the baths and amenities are wheelchair accessible for travellers of all abilities.
HISTORIC BRIDGE ON THE BARWON
Watch the Historic Bridge on the Barwon River rise for paddle steamers at the Upper Reaches of the Darling River system. Gums tower over the lace-like wrought iron bridge, painting a striking picture amid a pre-evening glow.