The banks of the Edward River at Deniliquin

Deniliquin (including Wanganella)
Large service centre surrounded by rivers and lagoons.
Deniliquin is a town of 7895 persons on the Edward River, a branch of the Murray River which was created by a fault in the earth's surface. Unusually, within the town, a series of lagoons snake off into parkland and state forest, and a footbridge across a creek opposite the town hall in Cressy St leads to an island wildlife sanctuary.

Deniliquin is situated 734 km south-west of Sydney via the Hume and Riverina Highways and 91 metres above sea-level. Its situation makes it ideal for fishing, waterskiing, canoeing, boating, safe swimming, and relaxing on both sandy McLeans Beach (signposted through town) and Willoughby's Beach within the state forest. There are boat ramps, a golf course, and river cruises to enjoy (to make bookings for the latter phone (03) 5881 3017 or 015-481965).

An irrigation channel - vital to the prosperity of the Riverina

Deniliquin lies at the centre of four irrigation districts which cover 725 000 hectares, the largest area under irrigation in Australia. It produces rice, wool, dairy products, wheat, barley, fat lambs, vegetables and fruit, timber and cattle. Local industry includes rice and timber mills, dairy, cordial and seed-processing factories, an abattoir and a fibrous plaster works. To the north are several famous Merino studs.

The area was inhabited by the Barapa Baraba Aborigines before European settlement. Seeking to extend his pastoral holdings inland Benjamin Boyd (see entry on Eden) established the head station of a run known as 'Deniliquin' 6.5 km upstream of the present township around 1842. The name is said to derive from a local Aboriginal chief known as Denilakoon who was noted for his size, strength and, it is said, his wrestling. A rush for land was started that year by the reports of pastoralist Augustus Morris who traced the Edward to its junction with the Wakool River.

The first inn went up in 1845 or 1847 on the ground now occupied by the North Deniliquin School. In 1847 a punt was put into use by a Dr Coward, the first resident on the south side of the river. He established his base on what is now the Island Sanctuary, once called 'Coward's Island'.

The townsite was surveyed in 1848 and gazetted in 1850, the year a two-roomed slab hut was built for Henry Wyse, who used it as a store and post office. The site became an important river crossing for stock as it was situated at the convergence of three major stock routes from Queensland and NSW to Victoria.

The first gaol was built in 1856 (population 155) after concerns were raised about Wyse's tendency to chain law-breakers to a log in his cow yard. A courthouse was built on the site of the present ANZ Bank but was replaced in 1861. The first hospital was built in 1856 but, as it was not open to working people, another opened in 1858. The two amalgamated in 1861 and the original building, with its stained-glass window depicting the goddess Hygeia, is still part of the current complex.

The first bridge went up in 1861 joining the two parts of the township, though the south side developed at the expense of the north. It was replaced by a toll bridge and then by another span in 1896. Deniliquin was declared a municipality in 1868. At the time it had 11 hotels and about a thousand people. Early industry included a brewery (1866) and a flour mill (1872). In 1876 a private railway arrived from Echuca and a town hall was built.

With the growing population new school buildings were erected in 1879 and the old 1862 schoolhouse was made into a teacher's residence. It was extended to its current form in 1899 and 1905 and it now houses the Peppin Heritage Centre, a tribute to the Peppin family.

George Hall Peppin and his two sons were experienced English sheep breeders who settled at nearby Wanganella station in 1858. Dissatisfied with the yield and quality of wool from the merino, they channelled their efforts into developing a new breed that was better adapted to Australian conditions, larger of frame and able to yield a greatly improved quality and quantity of wool. Their successes constitute the foundation of Australia's reputation as a quality wool exporter. Peppin sheep now predominate among the flocks of South Africa, New Zealand and South America and 60-85 % of Australian merinos have Wanganella blood.

Peppin's 'Morago' homestead, 40 km north-west, was built in 1861. The Falkiner family bought up the Peppin lands and stock between 1878 and 1958 and F.S. Falkiner & Sons is now owned by News Corporation. It covers 360 000 acres, contains 170 000 sheep and is still a major ram stud. One of the old stations, 'Boonoke', lies on the road to Conargo. The 'Wanganella' and 'Peppinella' stations are situated on the road north to Hay (the Cobb Highway). Near the gate of the 'Wanganella' station is a bronze effigy of a merino ram intended as a memorial to the Peppin family.

The Deniliquin Easter Festival a street parade, tennis championships, a Rotary Art Exhibition, a rodeo and both golf and bowls championships. A major ball is held at Conargo on New Year's Eve.

Things to see:  

The monument outside the town's Multi Arts Centre

The Peppin Heritage Centre
The Peppin Heritage Centre, in George St, is open from 9-4 weekdays and 11-2 on weekends. It has an historic classroom and the insight it affords into nineteenth-century pedagogy it focuses on the history of the wool industry with historic photographs and displays, a video, a thatched-roof ram shed, exhibitions, shops and crafts. The centre also contains the original Wanganella lock-up which features a Headless Horseman sound and light show (see entry on Booroorban).

Historical Town Walk
The Heritage Centre has a pamphlet outlining an historical town walk. The most notable heritage building is the stuccoed Victorian classical courthouse in Poictiers St, built 1883-87 and designed by James Barnet, with additions made the following decade that appear to have been part of the original conception. The entrance and portico are particularly impressive. In Cressy St the town hall, council building, former Globe Hotel shops and Pastoral Times newspaper building represent a group of largely intact late Victorian buildings which are also important to the townscape. The clock in the town hall tower was donated in 1903 by a resident in memoriam of Queen Victoria's long reign. Opposite the community health centre in Macauley St is the old police inspector's residence, now the home of the historical society. Dating from the late nineteenth century it has been restored and contains historic items (open Tuesdays 10-12). St Andrew's Uniting Church is a quite elaborate building with a window that replicates Da Vinci's Last Supper.

Waring Gardens
Waring Gardens, in Cressy St (the main thoroughfare), were originally a chain of lagoons associated with the Edward River. The park was established in 1881 and named after Deniliquin's first town clerk. A bridge was built and a band rotunda added in 1887. Numerous Moreton Bay figs, palms, willows and other trees date from the 19th century.

Edward River and the Island sanctuary

Island Sanctuary
The visitor's centre also has a pamphlet on the island sanctuary where there are kangaroos, possums, bats, and birds aplenty amidst river red gum. It contains the burial site of 'Old Jack', a member of the Melville gang, bushrangers who visited Deniliquin in 1851. Apparently Old Jack was so drunk that his compatriots tied him to a tree and threw turpentine over him, thinking it to be water. As his hollering increased one gang member approached him with a candle and Jack burst into flames. Once untied he threw himself in the river but died after two days. The sanctuary is also a good place to start the riverside walk to McLeans Beach.

Boating on the Edward River

Blake Botanic Reserve
There are also some beautiful landscaped gardens, with natural lagoons, barbecues, picnic facilities, ducks, peacocks and a Moreton Bay fig growing out of the trunk of a large gum, on a block overlooking the main shopping area off Napier St. If you head south-west along Napier and then turn right into Harfleur St it will take you to Blake Botanic Reserve.

Pioneer Park
6 km north on the road to Hay (the Cobb Highway), on the banks of a billabong, is Pioneer Park, a 50-acre block of red gum forest which has been in the family since 1856. Recently converted to a tourist park there are restored antique steam trains and petrol pumps, set in motion at Easter when jazz bands perform at the Pioneer Gardens Annual Display, a garden centre, a gallery of historic paintings and photographs and accommodation (03-58815066). The reception centre is a faithful recreation of the old Imperial Hotel.

Stevens Weir and other attractions
26 km north-west of Deniliquin via the Wakool Rd are riverside gardens and picnic facilities at Stevens Weir. If you head north-east along the road to Conargo, there are turnoffs to Galveston Lakes Water Ski Park (03-58824256) and the dry garden at East Tolans, open by appointment only (03-58824343). At Conargo itself is the Conargo Hotel (1853) and Wayside Gardens with its picnic and barbecue facilities. It is one of several friendly country pubs in the area. If you're passing through Pretty Pine or Blighty their hotels are also a pleasant spot to stop for lunch or the evening.

The Australian Ricegrower's Cooperative Mill
The Australian Ricegrower's Cooperative Mill, on Barham Rd, is the largest rice mill in the southern hemisphere with a milling capacity of 50 tonnes per hour. It has a visitor's centre open weekdays 9.30-12 and 2-4, which looks at the process of growing and milling.

Lawson's Syphon
Lawson's Syphon, 6 km east of Deniliquin, is an impressive engineering complex that diverts 10 000 megalitres a day from Mulwala Canal (at 155 km it is the largest irrigation channel in Australia) under the Edward River into a series of canals which irrigate the area. Take Crispe St out of town, swing left into Ochtertyre St and then turn left into Lawson Syphon Rd.

Forest Drives
8 km south-east, on the Edward River, bordering the Tuppal Forest, is Deniliquin Youth and Recreation Camp (03-58815518). There are plenty of forest drives to pursue in the vicinity. A warning however: be sure to obtain a topographical or forestry map before heading off.

	Tourist Information
	Peppin Heritage Centre Cnr George St & Napier St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 4150, 1800 650 712 Facsimile: (03) 5881 4415
	Motels
	Centrepoint Motel 399 Cressy St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 3544 Facsimile: (03) 5881 4755 Rating: ***1/2
	Deniliquin Country Club Motor Inn 68 Crispe St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 5299 Facsimile: (03) 5881 5274 Rating: ****
	Deniliquin Golf & Leisure Resort Motel Deniliquin Golf Club Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 3835 Facsimile: (03) 5881 3835 Rating: **
	Deniliquin Motel Cnr Wick & Crispe Sts Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1820 Facsimile: (03) 5881 5010 Rating: ***
	Peppin Motor Inn Crispe St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2722 Facsimile: (03) 5881 1661 Rating: ***
	Riverview Motel Butler St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2311 Facsimile: (03) 5881 3014 Rating: **1/2
	Riviana Motel Cnr Crispe & Hetherington Sts Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2033 Facsimile: (03) 5881 4920 Rating: ***
	Settlement Motor Inn Motel 327 Victoria St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 3999 Facsimile: (03) 5881 1364 Rating: ***1/2
	Hotels
	Central Hotel 1 Napier St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2060
	Coach House Motel-Hotel 99 End St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1011 Facsimile: (03) 5881 5492 Rating: **
	Edward River Hotel 6 Davidson St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2065
	Exchange Hotel 116 End St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1337
	Federal Hotel 46 Napier St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1260 Rating: *
	Federal Hotel 46 Napier St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1260
	Globe Hotel 220 Cressy St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2030
	Pretty Pine Hotel Hay Rd Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 3564
	Railway Hotel 82 Napier St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1498 Facsimile: (03) 5881 2167
	Sportsmans Arms Hotel/Motel Davidson St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1810
	White Lion Hotel 53 Russell St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2699
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Riverview on the Edward Bed & Breakfast Balpool Rd, Moulamein Deniliquin NSW 2733 Telephone: (03) 5887 5241 Facsimile: (03) 5887 5454
	Farm & Eco Holidays
	Riverview on the Edward Bed & Breakfast Balpool Rd, Moulamein Deniliquin NSW 2733 Telephone: (03) 5887 5241 Facsimile: (03) 5887 5454
	Caravan Parks
	McLean Beach Caravan Park Butler St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2448 Rating: ***
	Paringal Caravan Park Ochteryre St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1131 Email: info@paranga.com
	Pioneer Tourist Park Hay Rd Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 5066 Rating: ***
	Deniliquin Riverside Caravan Park 24 Davidson St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1284 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Deniliquin Bowling Club Restaurant & Bistro Wick St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 3011
	Deniliquin Golf & Leisure Resort Motel Deniliquin Golf Club Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 3835
	Deniliquin Pizza Restaurant Cnr Harding & Cressy Sts Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1033
	George Street Coffee Shop 369 George St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 3884
	Ho's Chinese Restaurant 142 End St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2089
	Peppin Motor Inn Crispe St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2722 Facsimile: (03) 5881 1661
	Riverview Motel Butler St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 2311
	Royal Colonial Hotel/Motel 99 End St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 1011
	Tee Jay's Centrepoint Restaurant Harding St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 7220
	Cafés
	Bus Stop Cafe 344 Whitelock St Deniliquin NSW 2710 Telephone: (03) 5881 4446