Balranald - Balranald
Balranald is the gateway to Mungo National Park. Balranald is the oldest settlement on the Lower Murrumbidgee River, with records dating back well before
1850. In 1847 and 1848 George James McDonald, the Commissioner for Crown Lands for the lower Darling District came to the small village. McDonald, a
Scotsman was from a small town called Balranald in the Outer Hebrides, and perhaps it was natural for him to christen his adopted place of abode Balranald.
Bal (Celtic) means abode, township, a village thus Balranald signifies an abode of Ranald.
Mungo National Park was the first national park to be World Heritage Listed in Australia. The park covers most of an ancient dry lake bed on the plains of
western New South Wales. During the ice ages, Lake Mungo was one of a chain of fresh water lakes strung along Willandra Creek and then the main
channel of the Lachlan River flowing to the Murrumbidgee.
Today, a great crescent-shaped dune (lunette), the Walls of China, stretches along the Eastern Shore of Lake Mungo. These dunes have been continually
eroding over time by wind and water carving out spectacular fragile formations comprised of sand and clay. This continual erosion by the wind and water
has also uncovered extensive evidence of the Aboriginal occupation of this area. These lakes preserve the longest continual record of Aboriginal life in
Australia dating from 40 000 years ago through to the present.
From the Outback and its spectacular sunsets to an oasis in the Great Cumbungi Swamp (One of New South Wales' largest wetland areas), Balranald has a
variety of birds, flora and fauna providing a smorgasbord of opportunities for professional and amateur photographers and birdwatchers alike. Balranald
offers some of the best fishing in Australia with five rivers all within 30 minute drive of the main street.