Menindee is the oldest European settlement in western New South Wales, and the first town to be established on the Darling River. The first European to visit the area was the surveyor and explorer Major Thomas Mitchell in 1835. He was followed by Charles Sturt in 1844 and the town was the advance base for the Burke and Wills expedition in 1860.
The Burke and Wills expedition camped at Menindee on their journey to cross Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. They arrived here on 14 October 1860, crossed the Darling River at Kinchega Station and made Camp XXXIV. There was dissent within the party and the deputy-leader George Landells resigned. Robert O'Hara Burke split the party, heading north to Cooper Creek with half the men, stores and animals. The remaining men, stores and animals made a depot camp at Pamamaroo Creek and a sign and cairn mark the site of the camp. This camp was used for the remainder of 1860 and for most of 1861. While in Menindee, Burke stayed at the Maiden's Hotel, which was then owned by Thomas Pain and was known as Pain's Hotel.
Heritage listings
Menindee has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
A weir on the Darling River near Menindee diverts water from the river into a series of shallow, otherwise dry, overflow lakes. The Menindee Lakes, also known as the Menindee Water Storage Scheme, regulate the river flow for irrigation downstream into South Australia. Menindee residents have complained about the town's "putrid" water quality and claim that cotton growers were removing water from the river during the recent drought. Generally the health of river systems is reliant on summer rains. Some locals have already started carting water from other sources. The WaterNSW advised property owners not to water their stock from the Darling. The river is subject to blooms of blue green algae in summer. Richard Kingsford, Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of NSW said the Menindee Lakes had been drained more often than in the past. In July 2018, 23 gigalitres of environmental water was delivered to the Darling River which reconnected parts of the river and flushed out algae. In early 2019, up to one million native fish were found dead along a 40-kilometre stretch of the river in Menindee, including the large and critically endangered Murray cod. The apparent trigger for these deaths was a sudden drop in temperature, causing much of the algae bloom to decompose. Dissolved oxygen then fell below the levels required by the fish. Widespread rainfall over north-west NSW and southern Queensland during January/February 2020 started to flow into Menindee Lakes on 10 March. It was estimated that over 550 gigalitres will reach Menindee Lakes as a result of this flow event. Increased numbers of waterbirds have been observed in the area.
Climate
Menindee has a desert climate with an annual average rainfall of just 245.8 mm, however rainfall varies significantly from year to year, with the town often going without rainfall for months on end, but occasional severe rainstorms can cause falls of over 100 mm in a day, the last time this happened being January 2011. Menindee is tied with Bourke in recording the hottest temperature in New South Wales, with a temperature of 49.7 °C recorded on 10 January 1939.
Transport
is served by The Outback Xplorer service between Sydney and Broken Hill with one train in each direction per week. Trains head west on Mondays and east on Tuesdays. A community access bus service runs to Broken Hill and return Monday to Friday, run by CDC Broken Hill. No major highway runs through Menindee but the Barrier Highway between Adelaide and Nyngan runs nearby to the north through Broken Hill.
