BREWARRINA
Brewarrina is a small outback town in
the west of NSW. Brewarrina is equidistant between Bourke to the West
and Walgett to the east. Brewarrina has a reputation of quite often
recording the highest temperature for the state of NSW.
No one knows exactly what
the word "Brewarrina" means. The most common translation is "clumps of
acacias".
The first white settlers
arrived in the district around 1839-40. The first people to own land
where the town now stands were the Lawson brothers, who had two
holdings - one called "Walcha" and another called "Moona".
The first name given to the settlement was "Walcha Hut" but this later
changed to "Brewarrina". In 1859 a riverboat called Gemini,
skippered by William Randell, reached the town. This opened up the
possibility of developing the town as a port.

The 1870s were something of
a boom time for Brewarrina. The Mechanics Institute was formed in
1873. The following year two hotels,
two
stores and the Commercial Bank all opened, and in 1875 a public school
was established. All this development was largely due to Cobb and Co.
The War Memorial is located
near the info centre. And the number of names confirms the earlier and
busier era.
Brewarrina is represented
with an Anglican
and Catholic churches .
When passing through be
sure to visit the info centre and get a feel for the history of this
outback township.
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