Carinda is a town in the north of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The town is in the

Walgett Shire Walgett Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Orana, New South Wales, Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Qu ...

local government area. In 2016, the town had a population of 158. The name of the town is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'you carry'.

History

In 1818

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...

and

George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (sin ...

arrived north of

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

and attempted to travel downstream along the

Macquarie River The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon River (New South Wales), Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the central highl ...

. Unseasonal rains and swollen rivers overflowing into marsh country soon turned them back, lending credence to their conviction that there was an inland sea. For ten years the mystery of the inland sea remained unsolved. When

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European land exploration of Australia, European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the ...

ventured into the interior in 1828-29 he endeavoured to verify Oxley's findings. However, it became evident that there was no inland sea, and that all the inland rivers did flow into the

Darling River The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...

. Settlers came into the Carinda District in the mid 1800s, settling along the waterways. Thomas McNamara acquired of land which became Carinda Station. He built a dwelling on the nearby Marthaguy Creek where he ran a hotel and a store around which a small village grew. It is believed the name Carinda is derived from an early 'run' west of the present town called 'Currundy.' In 1908 the Carinda Bore was sunk, enabling people to move away from the creek. A second settlement, known as the "Top End", grew up where present-day Carinda is situated.

Present day

The population of Carinda has decreased significantly and in 2016 stood at around 158. In the 2016 Census, 87.3% of people were recorded as having been born in Australia and 88.9% of people only spoke English at home. The general store, which also served as a post office and café, closed down in August 2014 and post office duties have since been taken up by the local service station. Carinda Hotel 09-08-2024 001

In February 1983, the town was used as a filming location for the music video for singer

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's 1983 single " Let's Dance", centering on the Carinda Hotel. The connection to Bowie has been proposed as a basis for plans to revitalize the town. In addition to the hotel, there is a 12-hole golf course with a golf club that operates on Friday and Saturday nights. Carinda's biggest event of the year is its

picnic horse racing Picnic horse racing, or more usually picnic races or more colloquially "the picnics" ''The picnics have been held for over 100 years...'' refer to amateur Thoroughbred horse racing meetings, predominantly in Australia. The meetings are organis ...

meeting, held each July.

References

External links

Towns in New South Wales Walgett Shire {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub