Brewarrina Shire Destination Management Plan Brewarrina Shire destination management plan | Page 19

3. BREWARRINA SHIRE – OUR DESTINATION
3.1 Overview
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Brewarrina Shire is located in the Outback Region of NSW. The Shire lies approximately 760 kilometres
northwest of Sydney and 380 kilometres north of Dubbo and is located between two high profile outback
destinations – Lightning Ridge, 200 kilometres to the east, and Bourke, 98 kilometres to the west.
Incorporating an area of 19,188 square kilometres, the Shire is bounded by the NSW-Queensland border in
the north, Walgett and Warren Shires to the east, Bogan Shire to the south and Bourke Shire to the west.
The topography of the Shire includes extensive black soil plains along the Darling-Barwon River corridor,
channel country along the ephemeral Bokhara, Birrie, Narran and Culgoa River systems, stony red-ridge
country forming the drainage divides, and red sand dunes in the Culgoa National Park. The Barwon River,
upstream of the Brewarrina Weir has permanent water year-round. The Shire has a semi-arid climate.
The Shire extends across the traditional lands of the Murawari, Barkinji, Weilwan, Kamilaroi, Koamu, Valarai,
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Baranbinja, Wiradjuri, Ngemba, and Yualwarri people . Pre-European settlement, Brewarrina was one of the
great inter-tribal meeting places of Eastern Australia. Brewarrina is a deeply spiritual area, strongly linked to
the Dreamtime creation stories (Baiame’s Footprint, the formation of the Fish Traps, the creation of Narran
Lakes etc) which describe the formation of the inland river systems and the isolated mountain ranges
(Byrock, Mt Oxley and Mt Gundabooka) in the surrounding region. Brewarrina is home to the Brewarrina
Fish Traps (Baiames Ngunnhu) which are believed to be the oldest man-made structure in the world,
estimated to be 40,000+ years old. The Fish Traps are of international and national significance.
Agriculture is the main landuse and economic activity within the Shire, with the Shire producing sheep,
cattle, goats, grain crops and cotton. Tourism is a small, but significant economic sector for the Shire.
At the 2016 Census, Brewarrina Shire had a resident population of 1,651, with 61.5% of the population being
Aboriginal. Brewarrina (population 1,143) is the largest town and administrative centre of the Shire.
Brewarrina is located on the Kamilaroi Highway at the junction of several regional roads and is a small
service centre for local residents and highway and regional travellers. Brewarrina Shire has 4 small villages,
Goodooga (pop. 247), Weilmoringle (pop. 77) and Angledool (pop. 58) in the north of the Shire and
Gongolgon (pop. 40) in the south. Goodooga and Weilmoringle both have post office – general stores, with
Goodooga also having functioning pub/hotel, and a bowling club that is closed.
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The distances given are by road to the town of Brewarrina which is the main town and administrative centre of the Shire.
There are various spellings of the names of the Aboriginal groups
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BREWARRINA SHIRE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN 2019 - 2022