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A deserted house in the tiny
settlement of
Barringun
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Barringun
One
pub village on the border between New South Wales and Queensland.
Barringun, located on the NSW-Queensland border
128 km north of Burke and 119 km south of Cunnamulla, was once a
thriving town which was serviced by four hotels, and a wide variety of
other shops. It was at the centre of movements of people through the
Darling Downs and across into western NSW and Queensland. The town was
a stopover point for shearers, drovers, mailmen, swaggies, labourers,
adventurers and Cobb & Co coaches.
A description of the town which appeared in the
Australian Handbook in 1894 captures its brief moment of glory: 'A
border township with post, telegraph, money order station and
Government Savings Bank. In the country of Culgoa, electoral district
of Bourke, partly in Queensland territory, 640 miles north west of
Sydney. Mode of conveyance per coach to Bourke. 90 miles thence per
rail. There are two hotels and a customs station on the Queensland side
of the border. The buildings on the New South Wales side comprise a
bonded warehouse, post and telegraph offices, two hotels (Royal Mail
and Queensland), a branch of the Commercial Bank, a brewery, two
butcher's shops, a few private cottages, a court house and gaol and a
public school. Average attendance - 30. Population about 180.'
Today the town has one pub and a population of four. It
is quite common in the late afternoon to see half the town's population
- the publican and one customer - at the pub. The Tattersalls Hotel
(the grand name has little to do with its very humble status) stands
forlornly on the western side of the highway. The rest of this once
thriving town has now disappeared with only a couple of deserted
buildings remaining. There is no hint of a settlement on the Queensland
side of the border.
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Hotels
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Bush Tucker Inn
Mitchell Hwy
Barringun
NSW
2840
Telephone: (02) 6874 7584
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