Balranald is an attractive regional service centre for wool, cattle, wheat, fruit (by irrigation) and timber producers. The town is located on the Murrumbidgee River.

Where is it?: Balranald is 859 km west of Sydney via the Great Western, Mid Western and Sturt Highways.

Situated on the right-hand side of the road to Koraleigh is a large tree which stands alone about 10 metres off the road. Notice that the branches have been tied together so they grow in the shape of a ring. It is known as Ring Tree, being a remnant of pre-colonial days and a very rare surviving example of an old Aboriginal boundary marker.

Yanga Lake: 8 km south-east on the Sturt Hwy, near the Waugorah Rd turnoff is a good location for fishing and aquatic activities. Yanga Homestead is said to be largest freehold property in the southern hemisphere. One of the first telephones in Australia connected the homestead with the men's quarters. It was installed by Alexander Graham Bell's nephew.

Hatfield: 70 km along the Ivanhoe Road, amidst flat saltbush plains and red sandy ridges is Hatfield. It was here in 1879 that a band of four horse thieves began a very short-lived spree of bushranging when they robbed the hotelier. They were caught after a shootout two days later and subsequently executed.

Kyalite: 36 km south is the tiny village of Kyalite, situated on the banks of the Wakool River. It was founded by Henry Talbett who established a punt service across the river in 1848 which was used by Burke and Wills in 1860. Talbett soon added an inn and a general store. Today there are only about thirty people although it contains Australia's largest commercial pistachio nut farm.

Tooleybuc: 18 km south-west of Kyalite is Tooleybuc, a tiny and tranquil settlement with a village atmosphere and a large sporting club which serves drinks and meals. It is located right on the state border by the banks of the Murray River. Tooleybuc is a pleasant spot for picnicking and riverside walks. Fishing is especially popular and there is a boat ramp.

Hells Gate: 50 km east of Balranald is the property knows as Hell's Gate. It is on a dead flat stretch of the Riverina. This was the 'Hell', or so the rumour goes, which 'Banjo' Paterson referred to when he wrote of 'Hay, Hell and Booligal'.

Balranald Island, a few kilometres east of town, is an island in the Murrumbidgee. Measuring approximately 5 km it is considered a significant site by the Madi Madi people as it was the burial place of Jimmy Morris, their last Nguloongurra man (clever man). It is said his great knowledge of the local land and fauna gave him great power. There is no public access.

Brief history: Considered the oldest settlement on the lower part of the Murrumbidgee the area was once occupied by, amongst others, the Wemba-Wemba Aborigines, who called the area 'Nap Nap'. European settlement decimated the local community who were eventually removed to a 142-acre reserve at the western end of the town.

Balranald grew up around a punt was set up here in 1859, the year the first Cobb & Co. coaches arrived. As a major river crossing Balranald prospered. Burke and Wills crossed the Murrumbidgee via the Mayall St punt and camped on the riverbank in front of the Balranald Inn in September 1860. A bridge across the Murrumbidgee was built in 1880 and the township was declared a municipality in 1882. The railway arrived in 1926.