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Victorian Exploration Expedition of 1861. Another source, Cannon
(1973: 10), indicates a pastoral station was established further west on the
Bulloo River by Vincent James Dowling in the vicinity of Thargomindah by
the mid-1840s, and William Conn took up a run at Delalah Station on the
Paroo in late 1863 (Shaw, 1985:26). The latter station was abandoned a
year later.
However, below Cunnamulla and Thargomindah the country deteriorates,
and the rivers split into many dry channels. Perhaps because of this the
country between the Darling and Paroo Rivers, broadly representative of
the area generally, was described as having but patches of good country,
(NSW VP, 1858, vol 111:758-9, quoted in (Heathcote 1965:89» and was
officially considered of little use. The land being thus condemned the northwestern
corner of New South Wales, which includes the vicinity of
Milparinka, was not taken up by European pastoralists until some time
after 1864.
2.2.2 Settlement on the Darling River Frontage
In parallel with the expansion discussed above, west and south-west of the
Darling Downs, European pastoralists expanded north and north-west from
the Murray-Darling confluence in the south. According to Shaw this
commenced in 1847 with the establishment of a 'run' a little below the
Murray-Darling junction by the Jamieson brothers. By 1850 sheep and
cattle camps were present at Laidley's Ponds (now Menindee), and runs
had been established at Mount Murchison and Weinteriga. By 1851 Crown
Lands Commissioners had commenced surveys of the Darling River
frontages and to issue licenses for runs already in occupation (Shaw,
1987:14-15).
Paddle-steamers commenced operations on the Darling River in August
1853, and in 1859 reached as far upstream as Mount Murchison run, just
above the site subsequently chosen for the river port of Wilcannia. The
same year navigation as far as Walgett was shown to be possible. At the
time, although all frontage blocks for two hundred and eighty miles above
Mount Murchison had been taken up, only one was occupied. (Heathcote,
1965:100). However, the successful navigation of the Darting River
introduced paddle-steamers and barges into the economics of far-western
pastoralism, and their use along the Darling and Murray Rivers made a
very considerably reduction in the cost of transporting wool to Melbourne
and Adelaide. They also provided a cheaper means of transporting goods
in the opposite direction, although, as discussed later, this was not without
risk.
At least partly due to the introduction of the paddle-steamers, pastoral
emphasis changed from cattle to sheep. The resultant pressure on
frontage blocks and lower cost of transportation made the country further
west relatively more attractive.