Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

region of south-western

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The town lies on the junction of the Newell and Sturt highways, adjacent to the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

, and it is considered the gateway to the

Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. The main river s ...

. At the 2021 census, Narrandera had a population of 3,783.

History

Narrandera is a river town with a rich heritage. Captain

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 ...

is credited with being the first European to observe the area that later was to become known as Narrandera. However Sturt, who passed through the district on 12 December 1829, was not the first explorer to cast eyes on the Murrumbidgee River. The upper Murrumbidgee, the "Big Water", was first noted in April 1821 by

Charles Throsby Charles Throsby (1777 – 2 April 1828) was an English surgeon who, after he migrated to New South Wales in 1802, became an explorer, pioneer and parliamentarian. He opened up much new land beyond the Blue Mountains for colonial settlement ...

. The name ''Narrandera'' is derived from the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

word ''nharrang'', meaning "

frill-necked lizard The frilled lizard (''Chlamydosaurus kingii)'', also known commonly as the frilled agama, the frillneck lizard, the frill-necked lizard, and the frilled dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to northern ...

". and the name of the local Narrungderah clan.

Massacre of Narrungderah people

The local Aboriginal people of the

nation, were all but destroyed by settlement, disease brought by European settlers, and clashes with the settlers. The last blow was a massacre of the remainder of the Narrungderah clan by a small group of European settlers near what is now referred to as Massacre, or Murdering Island, and is known to have left only one survivor. The people of the Wiradjuri nation who now reside in Narrandera make up ten percent of the population of the town, and predominantly came from the regions south and west of Narrandera, but were dislocated by colonial expansion.

Settlement

Narrandera had its first recorded mention as a pastoral station or "run" (Narrandera Run) in 1848, at which time the property held by Edward Flood comprised approximately . In 1850, surveyor

James Larmer James Larmer (b. 1808 or 1809 – d. 1886) was a government surveyor in the colony of New South Wales. Between 1830 and 1859, he surveyed land, roads and settlements in New South Wales. He was an Assistant Surveyor to the Surveyor-General, Thomas ...

reserved a site for what would later become Narrandera. The township developed in the early 1860s. Gillenbah

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

opened nearby on 1 March 1859 and was replaced by the Narrandera office in 1861. A Gillenbah office was open from 1881 to 1892 and from 1906 to 1941. The Borough of Narrandera was constituted by proclamation dated 17 March 1885, and gazetted the following day. The centenary of Local Government in Narrandera was celebrated in 1985.

1945 RAAF crash

On 3 September 1945, a

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufor ...

assigned to No. 92 Squadron crashed into the canal at the western end of the town during a joy flight, killing all seven people on board.

2013 sesquicentenary

A celebratory weekend event to mark Narrandera's

sesquicentenary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

, named ''Back to Narrandera 1863 to 2013'', was held in early October 2013. The

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

, who was born in Narrandera, opened the celebrations at a luncheon. During her speech of proclamation she acknowledged the indigenous custodians of the land, and noted that the name ''Narrandera'' is a

word for "the place of lizard or goanna". Bashir informed the luncheon guests that 150 years ago 'on this site on the Murrumbidgee River, the beautiful place was officially proclaimed as a town named Narrandera'. Included on the program of events and activities for the celebrations were the Parkside Cottage Museum was open for most of the weekend and displayed many historical artefacts, including archival resources about the P.S. ''Wagga Wagga''; the Murrumbidgee Sheepdog Championships were held; there were Narrandera Cemeteries Heritage Walks; a cocktail party; and a Chinese exhibition. There was also a Railway Memorabilia Display with Vintage Train Rides and the John O'Brien Heritage House was opened to the public; there was a vintage film evening; a classic ball; a ''Back to the 60's Dance''; the

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

held a recovery breakfast; and a ''Ye Olde Town Picnic'' followed; with other events, including a CWA Devonshire Tea; a farmers' market; and a time capsule was sealed and placed under the Narrandera Clock Tower. The new Rocky Waterholes Bridge was also opened.

Heritage listings

Narrandera has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Elizabeth Street: Narrandera Showground Industrial Hall * Junee-Hay railway:

Murrumbidgee River railway bridge The Murrumbidgee River railway bridge is a former railway bridge that carried the Main Southern railway line across the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga, Australia. The original bridge, erected in 1881, was replaced in 2006. Original bridge T ...

* Murrumbidgee River: Berembed Weir * 30–32 Twynam Street: Derrendi * Whitton Street (Newell Highway):

Narrandera railway station Narrandera railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located at Whitton Street (Newell Highway), Narrandera, Narrandera Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the Hay railway line, and was formerly the junction statio ...

* Murrumbidgee River near: Gogeldrie Weir

Narrandera today

The town of Narrandera is located adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River, at the intersection of the Newell Highway and the Sturt Highway at the centre of a diversely productive agricultural region. Its attractive tree-lined streets contrast with the open plains that surround it. Narrandera now marks the transition between an extensive dry-land area devoted to cereal crops and sheep and wool production to the east, and, to the west, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) fed by water from the

Burrinjuck Dam Burrinjuck Dam is a gated, concrete-walled hydro-electric gravity dam at Burrinjuck, in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. It has three spillways across the Murrumbidgee River and forms an impounded reservoir called La ...

. The MIA is a region where irrigation has opened the way to a diversity of enterprise, from the growing of rice and other cereals under irrigation to the production of citrus, wine grapes, potatoes, and increasingly, cotton and nuts. The Narrandera Memorial Gardens include the unusual Hankinson Fountain. Manufactured by the

Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...

Company of England, the ceramic fountain is one of only two known to be in existence, the other located in Pakistan. It was given to the people of Narrandera by Alderman and Mrs Hankinson in 1922 in honour of locals who served in World War I. Narrandera is known for its waterways described below, but in particular for the Lake Talbot Water Park. The waterpark is set in an amphitheatre of shaded lawns. The Water Park features a 50-metre pool, a large children's pool, an infants pool and a water playground as well two giant water-slides. It adjoins Lake Talbot, which is fed by the Bundidgerry Creek. The Lake is used by swimmers water-skiers and canoeists. The Narrandera Flora and Fauna reserve is home to a Koala Regeneration Reserve. The reserve was set up in the 1970s to return Koalas to the town as they had been wiped out in the region by 1950 through accidental poisoning and through the fur export industry. There are now several hundred healthy Koala in the Reserve and they have bred and spread for many kilometres beyond Narrandera. Kangaroos are also well represented in the Reserve. Narrandera's immediate surrounds feature a number of waterways, the major waterway being the Murrumbidgee River. Others include Lake Talbot, the Narrandera Wetlands, Bundidgerry Creek, and the ephemeral Lake Coolah. The town also has number of historic features, such as a

fig tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

on the corner of King and Cadell Streets, which is thought to be 150 years old; and the Mon Repos, a residence built in a Queen Anne-style, which was built in the 1890s. The Oakbank Brewery Tower located beside the Murrumbidgee on Oakbank Road is a prominent feature, once owned by Lincolns brewers, then by Oakbank Brewery. Its last productive days were as a cordial (soft drink) factory owned by the Webster family of Narrandera. Narrandera Parkside Museum houses a cloak made from the first bale of Merino wool sent back to England by the MacArthur family. The Irrigation Canal which flows through the town carries water to the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area to Narrandera's west. It originates east at Berembed Weir where water is diverted from the Murrumbidgee River. The canal follows the natural bed of Bundidgerry Creek and in places spreads wide and has no levee banks. Lake Talbot was formed in 1924 when the bank of the Irrigation Canal gave way, flooding the river flat between the canal and Bundidgerry Hill. The shallow body of water was allowed to remain and became an important recreational feature of the town. A wetland has been created off Lizard Drive, only from the Murrumbidgee River. The Wetland acts as a collection point for storm water run-off from the town.

Climate

Narrandera has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(''BSk'') with a substantial range in maximum temperatures throughout the year, typical of the Riverina. Summers are hot and dry with the occasional severe thunderstorm and/or

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

. Winter is cool, partly cloudy and features many days of light, misty

drizzle Drizzle is a light precipitation which consists of liquid water drops that are smaller than those of rain – generally smaller than in diameter. Drizzle is normally produced by low stratiform clouds and stratocumulus clouds. Precipitation r ...

and fog which can persist for multiple days in a row. Snow is virtually unknown in the modern climate, having last occurred on 23 June 1908, 27 July 1901 and 8 August 1899; being some of the lowest-elevation snowfalls recorded in New South Wales (only the snowfall at

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

was lower).

Transport

Narrandera is well served for transport. The

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions along the route. Initiall ...

and the

Newell Highway Newell Highway is a National Highway (Australia), national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria (state), Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amo ...

cross just south of Narrandera.

Narrandera Airport Narrandera Airport (also known as Narrandera-Leeton Airport) is a small regional airport in the local government area of Narrandera in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The airport is located northwest of Narrandera along Irri ...

west West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

of the town, and is serviced by

Rex Airlines Rex Airlines Pty Ltd is an Australian regional airline based in Mascot, New South Wales. It operates scheduled regional services using turboprop aircraft. Between 2021 and 2024, Rex also operated jet services between selected major Australian ...

, operating return services daily to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, approximately one hour and 20 minutes' flying time away. Narrandera is served by a twice-weekly

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

Xplorer service operating between

and

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

. NSW TrainLink also operate a road coach service from

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

to Griffith via Coolamon.

Sports

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

there has a long history with a football club formed in 1881 playing matches against

from 1882 and a strong local competition known as the Central Riverina Football League existing from 1907. It continues to be played at the Narrandera Sports Ground. The Narrandera Eagles (founded in 1910 as the Narrandera Imperials Football Club) compete in the

Riverina Football League The Riverina Football Netball League (RFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules footba ...

, winning premierships in 1986 and 2012. Formerly of the

South West Southwest is a compass point. Southwest, south-west, south west, southwestern or south-western or south western may also refer to: * Southwest (direction), an intercardinal direction Geography *South West Queensland, Australia *South West (Weste ...

competition, the club won 15 titles in that league. Narrandera has a rugby league team competing in the Group 17 competition. Founded in 1921 and known as the Lizards, the club previously disbanded in 2005, leaving Group 20. This left the town with no rugby league club from 2006-2011 and 2015-17. After briefly amalgamating with neighbouring club Yanco-Wamoon to form Bidgee Hurricanes (2012–14), the club reformed independently in 2018 and joined the reformed Group 17. The club has three premierships from their time in Group 20 (1986, 1991, 1999) and two from Group 17 in 2022, which broke a 23-year drought, and 2023. Narrandera also has strong local cricket and basketball competitions.

Demography

Like many rural localities in the area, the population level has progressively declined over a number of years, evidenced as follows:

Notable residents

* Dame Marie Bashir, former Governor of New South Wales * Percy Bushby (1919–1975), Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the VFL between 1936 and 1948. *

Daniel Christian Daniel Trevor Christian (born 4 May 1983) is an Australian professional cricketer with Australian Aborigines, Aboriginal ancestry. He was considered a Twenty20 specialist and played for franchises all over the globe. Christian is known as a po ...

, former Australian ODI/T20 International cricketer * Creswell Eastman , endocrinologist, professor of medicine, known for

iodine deficiency Iodine deficiency is a lack of the trace element iodine, an essential nutrient in the diet. It may result in metabolic problems such as goiter, sometimes as an endemic goiter as well as congenital iodine deficiency syndrome due to untreated ...

disorders research. *

Adrian Feint Adrian George Feint (28 June 1894 – 25 April 1971) was an Australian artist. He worked in various media, and is noted for his bookplate designs. Education and military service Feint was born in Narrandera, New South Wales. He studied at Jul ...

, Australian artist, noted for paintings of flowers and bookplates *

Matt Flynn Matt or Matthew Flynn may refer to: * Matt Flynn (American football) (born 1985), American football player * Matt Flynn (Australian footballer) (born 1997), Australian rules footballer * Matt Flynn (politician) (born 1947), American politician * ...

, Australian rules footballer who is currently a West Coast Eagle, has previously played for GWS Giants. *

Kathleen Gorham Kathleen Ann "Kathy" Gorham (7 September 1928 - 30 April 1983) was an Australian ballerina. Early life Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, the second of four children of Marcus Gorham, an Irish-born railway employee, and his English-born wi ...

prima ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers ...

Stan Grant Snr Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author, ...

, , Wiradjuri elder and author who has played a central role in the preservation of the Wiradjuri language *

Sam Groth Samuel Groth (born 19 October 1987) is an Australian politician and a former professional tennis player. Sitting as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Groth represents the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), Liberal Par ...

, professional tour tennis player * Patrick Hartigan, Catholic priest, poet and author who used the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, "John O'Brien". The bush ethos celebrated by Hartigan in his writings has been commemorated in the once annual John O'Brien Bush Festival and in the local John O'Brien Heritage Museum. *

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

, Australian rules footballer *

Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons (born 19 October 1961) is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Clive Churchill Medallist and two-time Dally M Medallist, he made 309 first-grade appearances wi ...

, former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who represented

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

, the

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

teams *

Graham Lyons Graham Lyons (born 28 June 1969) is an Indigenous Australian, and a former professional rugby league footballer who played for South Sydney, Penrith and Balmain in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition. Lyons primarily played ...

, former professional rugby league footballer who represented South Sydney, Balmain, Penrith and

* Terry O'Neill, former Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne, Fitzroy and captained QueenslandAFL Tables: Terry O'Neill
/ref> *

Michael Salafia Michael Salafia is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s for Eastern Suburbs and Gold Coast Chargers of the Australian Rugby League. He played at . Playing career Salafia made his debut from the ben ...

, former professional rugby league footballer and Italian representative * Tim Ruffles, former Australian rules footballer for Fremantle * Zac Williams, Australian rules footballer, who currently plays for Carlton, has previously played for the GWS Giants

In popular culture

The novel '' Jessica'', by

Bryce Courtenay Arthur Bryce Courtenay, (14 August 1933 – 22 November 2012) was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book '' The Power of One''. Background and early ye ...

, mentions Narrandera several times as the main town near the place where the book is set.

Gallery

File:Narrandera NSW Australia 20070223.jpg, Aerial view of Narrandera

References

External links

Narrandera Tourism InformationNarrandera -VisitNSW.com
{{Authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales Populated places on the Murrumbidgee River Newell Highway Narrandera Shire