The first river crossing near Macquarie Park

 

Warren
Quiet rural township on the Macquarie River
Warren is a very typical and quiet rural town on the Macquarie River with a population of about 2200 people. It is located on the Oxley Highway, 545 km north-west of Sydney, 80 km west of Gilgandra and 197 metres above sea-level.

The area is dominated by sheep and cotton. In fact the shire council refers to itself as the 'Wool and Cotton Capital'. Merino sheep have long been bred locally and there is an Auscott Cotton Gin just out of town. Other local produce includes wheat, oats, sorghum and maize.

Entry to the town from the south is through the flat lands of the central western slopes.

Before European settlement the area is said to have been occupied by the Ngiyambaa Aborigines. Explorer John Oxley camped on the present townsite during his investigation of the Macquarie River in 1818. He noted an abundance of kangaroos and emus. Charles Sturt carried out further exploration in 1828-29. Cattle were grazing hereabouts by the late 1830s.

Warren station was established in 1845 by Thomas Readford and William Lawson, the son of explorer William Lawson who was a member of the first European party to breach the Blue Mountains in 1813. Some say the name derives from a local Aboriginal word, meaning 'strong' or 'substantial'. Another theory is that it represents the adoption of a contemporary English term, 'warren', meaning a game park - perhaps a reference to the picturesque riverside setting where the station hut was built (on what is now Macquarie Park) and to the large numbers of wildlife in the area.

A small police station was built near the hut to protect the new settlers from Aborigines but, there being no disturbance, they soon moved on. The hut was located by the site of a river-crossing on the main route from Dubbo. Stockmen camped here in the bend by the river, adjacent the Warren Hole (a natural and permanent waterhole), before crossing over on the gravel bar when the water was sufficiently low. A few stayed on and a site for a township was consequently surveyed in 1860 with land sales proceeding in 1861.

By that time sheep were replacing cattle in the district and some notable merino studs, such as Haddon Rig (now a farmstay), were established. Although the soil was fertile the scorching heat rendered agriculture problematic.

A post office opened in 1861, a bootmaker's shop, made of bark, in 1863, a store in 1866, a school in 1867, an Anglican Church in 1873, the first courthouse in 1874 and the first bridge in 1875. However, closer settlement did not really develop until the late 1880s.

Warren was incorporated as a municipality in 1895 and the Warren Weir was established in 1896. The town benefited greatly with the arrival of the railway in 1898, making it the railhead for an enormous area. In general terms, its prosperity rose and fell with the price of wool. In the 1920s the town developed quite substantially. In the Great Depression the economy shrank, expanding again in the postwar years. The eternal water shortage was greatly eased when Burrendong Dam was opened in 1967, allowing the development of cotton and produce.

The Golden Fleece Day is held in May and the Cotton Cup Carnival n November.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
Warren Tourist Information and Craft Centre is located in the old telephone exchange, next to the post office, at the corner of Burton St (the Oxley Highway) and Cobb St. It is open weekdays from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10.00 a.m. to noon, tel: (02) 6847 3181. The centre also sells local arts and crafts and can furnish information concerning local farmstays, including Haddon Rig, an historic property established well over a century ago and long a famous Merino stud. A stay includes a 4WD tour of the property and its wildlife.

 

Historic Buildings
Although there are not many old buildings left, walk along Dubbo St or Lawson St to get a feel for the town as it was in the 19-th century. Note particularly the Club House Hotel (1901) and Royal Hotel (1900) which stand opposite each other in Dubbo St (between Burton and Hale Sts) and the terrace houses from 37-41 Lawson St. The Anglican, Presbyterian and Catholic Churches are also in Lawson St.

 

Macquarie Park
Macquarie Park, on the banks of the Macquarie River, off Burton St, is particularly beautiful. It has English-style formal gardens and a monument in honour of John Oxley and Charles Sturt who traced the course of the Macquarie River early in the 19th century. Oxley camped near here in 1818 and is further commemorated in the naming of Oxley Park on the other side of the river. Sturt passed by just to the north-east in 1828 and the bridge over the river is named after him. Hundreds of galahs roost in the red gums at sunset.

 

Red River Gum Walk
The Red River Gum Walk starts just off Burton St in Macquarie Park. It follows the riverbank around to a 500-year-old river gum adjacent the Warren Hole, a natural and permanent waterhole once used for swimming and fishing. Just downstream is the site of the first European river crossing, where stock and wagons crossed on a gravel bar when the water was sufficiently low. It was used until the first bridge was built in 1875.

The first European dwelling on the future townsite was a small hut, built about 1845 where the Bowling Clubhouse now stands. A small police station was built nearby at this time to protect the new settlers from Aborigines but, there being no disturbance, they soon moved on. The Matthew Collins Walk traverses Oxley Park on the other side of the river.

 

Tiger Bay Wildlife Park
Tiger Bay Wildlife Park is a natural overflow of the Macquarie River system on the eastern side of town. It is home to 227 bird species. The best views are obtained with binoculars from the levee bank on the town side of the park (access via Coonamble Rd). There is a related pamphlet available from the visitors' centre.

 

Warren Weir
The western side of Warren Weir is 5 km south via Dubbo St. There are native trees and pleasant lawns which are ideal for picnics and barbecues. This is also a good spot for fishing. The eastern side has a small, sandy beach which is good for swimming and boating. To get there cross over the bridge, turn right down Milson St and there is a turnoff to the right after about 4 km. The weir system provides water for Nyngan and Cobar.

 

 

Cotton harvesting and loading

 

Cotton Farm
Auscott Cotton Farm, 10 km south-west along the road to Nevertire (the Oxley Highway) is open on weekdays. The office is on the highway. The best times for a visit are during harvesting and ginning, from late April to June. Prior arrangement is necessary with the office, tel: (02) 6883 7306, or with the Warren Information Centre.

 

Warren Racecourse and Showground
The Warren Racecourse and Showgrounds complex, known as the 'Randwick of the West', is located 3 km north-east via Dubbo St. It is an important site for race meetings, polocrosse, rodeos, pony club events and the Agricultural Show in May.

 

The Macquarie Marshes
When tracing the course of the Macquarie River in 1818, Oxley found that it disappeared into an 'ocean of reeds'. Some speculated that this was the edge of the legendary inland sea of Australia, but when Charles Sturt explored the river in 1828-29 he found the marshes nearly dry.

When in flood the waters of the Macquarie Marshes are a superb and beautiful waterbird habitat, making it an ideal birdwatching site. However, when the rains are scarce, as they are at the moment, little nesting occurs and visitors can be very disappointed, so be sure to ring the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) office at Coonabarabran first, tel: (02) 6842 1311.

The site can only be visited by two means as much of it is on private land. The NPWS currently runs tours on just two weekends a year (the second weekend in May and the October long weekend), or the site can be accessed by taking up accommodation at Willie Retreat, a privately-owned accommodation resort, tel: (02) 6824 4361.

Glimpses of the marshes can be obtained from the road which runs east-west, linking the Macquarie Valley Way, which heads north-west from Warren to Carinda, with Quambone (85 km north-east).

 

Windows on Warren
Windows on Warren offer a 36-hour tour which takes in the Warren town and area, Willie Retreat, the Macquarie Marshes, the Haddon Rig property and a tour of a cotton gin and cotton farm, tel: (02) 6847 3473.

 

Fishing and Canoeing
Yellowbelly, carp, cod, black bream and catfish are plentiful in the waters of the Macquarie. Aside from Warren Weir, there are good spots 8 km downstream of Warren and 16 km upstream. For further information contact the information centre. A boat or canoe can be sailed between the town and the weir or, for the more adventurous, there is a 170-km stretch to Mount Foster.

 

Cobb & Co Heritage Trail
The historic inland coaching company, Cobb & Co, celebrates the 150th anniversary of its first journey in 2004 (and the 80th anniversary of its last, owing to the emergence of motorised transport). The trailblazing company's contribution to Australia's development is celebrated with the establishment of a heritage trail which explores the terrain covered on one of its old routes: between Bathurst and Bourke.

Cobb & Co's origins lay in the growing human traffic prompted by the goldrushes of the early 1850s. As the Heritage Trail website states: 'The company was enormously successful and had branches or franchises throughout much of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan. At its peak, Cobb & Co operated along a network of tracks that extended further than those of any other coach system in the world ­ its coaches travelled 28,000 miles (44,800km) per week and 6000 (out of their 30,000) horses were harnessed every day. Cobb & Co created a web of tracks from Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria and Port Douglas on the Coral Sea down to the furthest reaches of Victoria and South Australia ­ in all, a continuous line of 2000 miles (3200km) of track over eastern Australia from south to north, with a total of 7000 miles (11,200km) of regular routes' (see www.cobbandco.net.au).

Cobb & Co sites in Warren include the post office (now the information centre), the cemetery, an old traveller's hotel and Willie's Retreat, which features old stables, buildings and the remains of a Cobb & Co Inn. Also in the shire are the Beemunnel Hotel, Cobb's Paddock, the Drungaler Bush Hotel, the remains of the Tenandra hotel and post office, and the Nevertire Hotel.

 

 

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Warren