The town name comes from a pastoral property, which in turn came from the Wiradjuri word 'ngarru-mayiny' meaning 'honey people'. The land lay within Wangaibon territory. The first European to visit the district was John Oxley who traced the course of the Macquarie River in 1818. The Main West railway line extension between Dubbo and Nevertire, which included Narromine, was officially opened on 20 October 1882. The town was established after the railway opened, the first structures in the town being the railway platforms. The township was gazetted in 1883, and the railway station opened on 1 May 1883. It was renamed to its current spelling in October 1889. Narramine Post Office opened on 20 October 1882 and was renamed Narromine in November 1900. The village of Narramine was proclaimed in July 1883, and numerous buildings followed, including the police station built in 1890, the store and the Royal Hotel. A bridge over the Macquarie River was built in 1897. After federation, the population of Narromine was 2,228 in the 1911 census, and in 1947 the population was 1,816.
Floods
In late March 1926, Narromine experienced its biggest flood since 1893, with the Macquarie River peaking at at 5 am on 27 March. Narromine was isolated due to floodwaters cutting roads, telephone lines and the railway line. A large area of country around the town was covered in water. Very little damage was reported. In the floods of April 1990, the river peaked at Narromine at a record.
Population
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 3,528 people in Narromine.
Narromine is heavily involved in regional sport. As a result of Narromine's proud sporting heroes this town has a great involvement in a number of different sports. In Rugby League, Narromine is represented by the Narromine Jets in the Group 11 Country Rugby League competition. Narromine has had a significant amount of success in this competition. Particularly, in 2002/2003 when their U18's took out the Group 11 competition with relative ease. The team defeated Dubbo Cyms in the 2002 grand final after completing the regular season undefeated. In 2003 the team lost only one game before defeating Dubbo Macquarie Raiders in a one sided affair. The town also boasts a successful Rugby Union team known as the Narromine Gorillas. Founded in 1982, the Gorillas have been a major force across the central west competitions and currently compete in the Blowes Clothing Cup. The Gorillas had a successful 2017 season in which they won the Graincorp cup without tasting defeat the entire year. The Grand Final saw them take on the Molong Magpies, with the final score being 31–10. Despite winning the premiership, the most significant achievement of 2017 might've been the reclaiming of "The Ashes" from cross shire rivals the Trangie Tigers. The infamous urn had never been held by Narromine in the 33 years since its inception, and this was the first time it had been contested since 1994. Prior to this recent success the first grade side won the 2009 Blowes Cup defeating the Bathurst Bulldogs in the grand final, and also registered three straight minor premierships from 2009–2011. As well as senior teams, the Gorillas has a fantastic junior rugby program with U/13's, U/15's and U/17's teams, plus sub-juniors.
Military history
During World War 2, Narromine was the location of RAAF No.19 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot, completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000.
