If there is one great, and largely undisturbed, port on the mighty Darling River it is Wilcannia. Cross the bridge driving from Sydney to Broken Hill and turn either to your right or left when you enter the town and you will be amazed at the richness of the architecture.
Here are the remnants of a once-important inland port. Some of the town's historic treasures include the old centre–lift bridge which was built in 1896 and is now classified by the National Trust, the beautiful 1880 post office and its attached residence, the Athenaeum Library (1883) and the impressive courthouse (1880), police station (1881), and the police residence (1880), which were all built of locally quarried sandstone and designed by James Barnet. In the right seasons the area near the bridge is ideal for picnics.
Wilcannia is located 965 km northwest of Sydney via the Great Western, Mitchell and Barrier Highways. It is on the very edge of the New South Wales desert experiencing only 252 mm of rainfall per annum – and often much of that rain will fall in violent, if short, desert storms.
