Milparinka

including the

Milparinka Heritage Precinct

Winner: 2009 NSW Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Award

Heritage and Culture ( pop. under 300)

No where in western New South Wales is a town quite like Milparinka.  Once visited, it will never be forgotten!  Make Milparinka part of your Corner Country adventure.

Milparinka is one of only two townships surviving in the Corner Country, the other being the larger community of Tibooburra.  When gold was discovered in the 1870s , a rush to the Corner Country began, with miners traveling overland from Wilcannia, and from Farina on the Ghan Railway line, travelling overland across largely waterless terrain.

Gold was never found at Milparinka, but something more precious, water.  A township developed along the waterhole in the Evelyn Creek, whilst gold was mined at Mt Browne, Albert, and The Granites (Tibooburra).

In time, Milparinka grew into a substantial township with four hotels, a bank, shops, a library, a newspaper office, police station and courthouse, a Cobb and Co office, school, post office and more. Plans were made to build a hospital.  The telegraph was linked to Sydney in 1896, and coach services arrived twice a week from Wilcannia and later Broken Hill.

Today, Milparinka is a ghost of its former self, but as heritage township has much to offer.  A devoted local community group has restored four of the most significant buildings, the courthouse, police station, gaol cells, and former kitchen and turned them into a vibrant, awarding winning Heritage Precinct. A Visitor Information Centre operates with the help of "visiting volunteers" during the tourist season.

A walking trail around the township connects significant historic locations, whilst ongoing survey work is reconstructing the original town layout. A pastoral museum, public gardens and pioneer memorials complete the attractions.

For accommodation, many opt to bush camp along the Evelyn Creek, use power available from the Heritage Precinct, or book into the Albert Hotel, the only pub left standing.