The Barwon River flows through New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, virtually as a continuation of the Macintyre River

MacIntyre River

The Macintyre River is a river in northern New South Wales, Australia, part of which forms the border with Queensland.The headwaters of the Macintyre River rise west of Guyra and south of Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands...

 / Border Rivers system, before joining with the Culgoa River

Culgoa River

The Culgoa River is a continuation of one branch of the Balonne River in southern Queensland and flows south-west to join the Darling River near Bourke, New South Wales. It is named for the Aboriginal word meaning "Running Through". Tributaries of the Culgoa include Nebine, Mungallala and Wallam...

 to form the Darling River

Darling River

The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is long, making it the longest river system in Australia.The...

. The name is derived from a local Aboriginal word meaning 'wide stream'.

Other tributaries of the Barwon include the Moonie River

Moonie River

The Moonie River is a river on the western Darling Downs of Queensland, Australia. The rivers flows in a south western direction into New South Wales to the west of Mungindi and then into the Barwon River. The catchment area has no major towns and is extremely flat...

, the Bokhara

Bokhara River

The Bokhara River is a river in Australia and part of the Murray-Darling basin. Forming in south western Queensland, the river passes by the town of Hebel before passing into New South Wales and eventually reaching a confluence with the Barwon River downstream from Brewarrina...

 and the Narran

Narran River

The Narran River is a river which spans the Queensland-New South Wales border in Australia. It flows into Narran Lake, near Brewarrina. It is the easterly-most of the branches of the Balonne River that flows to the Barwon River...

 Rivers - both branches of the Balonne River

Balonne River

The Balonne River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin system, is a short but important part of the inland river group of south-eastern Queensland. This river is a continuation of the Condamine River. After flowing through Surat the river flows south south-westerly down through the E.J...

 (a continuation of the Condamine River

Condamine River

The Condamine River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia...

), the Mehi River

Mehi River

The Mehi River is an inland stream in north-western New South Wales which diverts from the Gwydir River, about 21 km east of Moree. From here the river flows generally west, through the town of Moree and then generally west-south-west and westwards to join the Barwon River about 11 km...

 (a continuation of the Gwydir River

Gwydir River

The Gwydir River is a large inland river in the northern part of the Australian state of New South Wales which is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. The river has two main tributaries—the Horton River and the Rocky River...

) and the Namoi River

Namoi River

The Namoi River is a major tributary of the Darling River in inland New South Wales, Australia.- Course :The headwaters of the Namoi, including the Macdonald River, the Peel River, the Cockburn River and the Manilla River, rise on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range on the Northern...

.

Towns on the Barwon River include Brewarrina

Brewarrina, New South Wales

Brewarrina is a small town in North West New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is 98 km east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, and 808 km from Sydney. Brewarrina has had its population decrease from 1,197 persons in...

, Collarenebri

Collarenebri, New South Wales

Collarenebri is a town with a population of 478 people in north western New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in Walgett Shire, on the Barwon River approximately 75 km northeast of Walgett and south west of Mungindi on the Gwydir Highway. It is from Pokataroo which was the nearest...

, Mungindi

Mungindi, New South Wales

Mungindi is a town on the border of New South Wales and Queensland in Moree Plains Shire. It possesses a New South Wales postcode. Mungindi sits on the Carnarvon Highway and straddles the Barwon River which is the border between New South Wales and Queensland...

 and Walgett

Walgett, New South Wales

Walgett is a town in North-West New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is at the junction of the Barwon and Namoi rivers and near the junction of the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways...

.

History

In 1846 Roderick Mitchell, Commissioner of Crown Lands and the son of explorer, Sir Thomas Mitchell, proved that the Barwon and MacIntyre Rivers were the same river under different names.

Regular steamer services ran from Walgett to Bourke during 1880 to 1912. During the floods of 1879 and 1886 the steamers were able to travel into Collarenebri

Collarenebri, New South Wales

Collarenebri is a town with a population of 478 people in north western New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in Walgett Shire, on the Barwon River approximately 75 km northeast of Walgett and south west of Mungindi on the Gwydir Highway. It is from Pokataroo which was the nearest...

 and even as far as Mungindi

Mungindi, New South Wales

Mungindi is a town on the border of New South Wales and Queensland in Moree Plains Shire. It possesses a New South Wales postcode. Mungindi sits on the Carnarvon Highway and straddles the Barwon River which is the border between New South Wales and Queensland...

 in 1890.

The Aborigines

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...

 built a complex series fish traps on the Barwon River at Brewarrina

Brewarrina, New South Wales

Brewarrina is a small town in North West New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is 98 km east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, and 808 km from Sydney. Brewarrina has had its population decrease from 1,197 persons in...

. These traps are a large, well preserved example of this type of prehistoric site. The traps were built of rocks placed in the river bed to form a large number of V-shaped or diamond shaped channels. The Brewarrina fish traps have now been listed on the Australian National Heritage List

Australian National Heritage List

The Australian National Heritage List is a list of places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia. The list includes natural, historic and indigenous places...

 owing to the rarity of these works. They are of importance to modern Aborigines and are still in use. There are rocky rapids above and below Collarenebri as well as weirs and other structures for irrigation which impede normal navigation of the river.

The Brewarrina Lift Bridge which was built in 1888 over Barwon River on the Kamilaroi Highway

Kamilaroi Highway

Kamilaroi Highway is a state highway in New South Wales. It has been given the national route number 37. Its status as a highway is fairly new....

has also been assessed as being of State significance.

The Boonanga bridge completed in 1928 to cross the Barwon River near Boomi, is an early example of Allan timber truss road bridges. This bridge has been recorded with the NSW State agency heritage register.