Western NSW

New South Wales

Western NSW The Western region of New South Wales is area of choice for fine country heritage. Many towns are well-preserved in a region whose natural credentials include crisp mountain air, bushwalks, wildlife and wilderness.

Western New South Wales is a very different proposition from the other parts of the state. For a start, there’s hardly anyone living here. Out beyond the Blue Mountains, the Great Western Highway takes you as far as Bathurst; from there the Mid-Western Highway goes on to join the Sturt Highway, which heads, via Mildura on the Victorian border, to Adelaide. Any route west is eventually obliged to cross the Newell Highway, the direct route between Melbourne and Brisbane that cuts straight across the heart of central New South Wales. You find here towns rich in history and where you can stay on a rural property or a luxurious guesthouse are Bathurst and Orange in the Western Plains. Both are handsome country towns - a legacy of the 19th century goldrush boom - and both are producing impressive local food specialities such as cool-climate wines, figs, mushrooms, berries and golden trout. Dubbo is a town which offers a taste of pioneer life, it is the gateway to the New South Wales Outback. There's much to explore here including museums, galleries and the famous Western Plains Zoo. The most exciting Outback routes head north and west, though, passing through Dubbo, at the junction of the Newell and Mitchell highways, and then plunging into real isolation: north to Lightning Ridge or Bourke and western Queensland, or west on the Barrier Highway, right across the state to Broken Hill, almost at the South Australian border. This vast region in the State's far west offers a taste of outback Australia - sun-scarred expanses, spectacular ranges, a complex mosaic of plant and animal life, ancient landscapes, heritage towns, Aboriginal culture and World Heritage listed national parks. Lower Murray: Albury to Wentworth
Following the lower Murray River between Albury and the South Australian border, there’s little of interest on the New South Wales side until the old port town of Wenthworth and its surrounding storehouse of ancient Aboriginal history around Lake Victoria and in the remote Mungo National Park. The main centres are on the Victorian side of the river, Mildura and Echuca chief among them, although the NSW riverside towns of Tocumwal and Corowa, not far from Albury, are pleasant enough. For more regional information on the Western NSW Region, go to:
Northwest NSW Bourke Brewarrinna Coonabarabran Cobar Gunnedah Hungerford Lightning Ridge Moree Narrabri Warrumbungle National Park Outback NSW Broken Hill Art Galleries Mining around Broken Hill Mungo National Park Kinchega National Park Mutawintji National Park Royal Flying Doctor Service & School of the Air Corowa Menindee Silverton Tibooburra Sturt National Park Tocumwal Wenthworth White Cliffs Wilcannia Riverina Albury Deniliquin Goulburn Griffith Gundagai Holbrook Leeton Narrandera Wagga Wagga Yass Western Plains Bathurst Cowra Dubbo Mudgee Orange Sofala Hill End Historic Site Wellington Young Maps
New South Wales