Brewarrina
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Brewarrina

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Brewarrina

Brewarrina (pronounced bree-warren-ah; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is 96 kilometres (60 mi) east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, and 787 km from Sydney. The population of Brewarrina in 2021 was 743. Other towns and villages in the Brewarrina district include: Goodooga, Gongolgon, Weilmoringle, and Angledool.

Today it is known as the location of the Ngunnhu (Aboriginal fish traps), which were created over 40,000 years ago. Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission existed alongside the river from 1876 to 1967.

The town is located amid the traditional lands of the Ngemba, Murrawarri, Euahlayi (Yuwaalaraay), Weilwan, and Barranbinya peoples, who have lived on the land for at least 2000 generations. The area has a long Indigenous Australian history and was once the meeting ground for over 5,000 people.[citation needed]

The Ngunnhu (Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps) are estimated to be over 40,000 years old.

The name Brewarrina is derived from burru waranha, a Weilwan Weilwan name for a species of acacia, Cassia tree, "Acacia clumps", "a native standing", or "place where wild gooseberry grows".

The first British colonists arrived in the district in the early 1840s, with the brothers William and Nelson Lawson (sons of Lieutenant William Lawson) establishing two holdings – one called Walcha and another called Mohanna. Henry Cox (son of William Cox) formed Quantambone, while George Joseph Druitt (son of Major George Druitt) established Brewareena West. These pastoralists were the colonial elite with extensive other landholdings and employed managers to run their properties. For instance, William Lewis and then Cornelius "Con" Bride were the first managers for Quantambone.

In 1859, possibly up to 300 or 400 Aboriginal people were massacred by white settlers in an event known as the Hospital Creek Massacre, recollections of which vary. A memorial was erected by the local Aboriginal Land Council near the site of the massacre.

The town was first known as "Walcha Hut" but this later changed to "Brewarrina".

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