Located on the western banks of the Darling River, the town of Tilpa makes an excellent stopover, whether you have a few hours or a few days for camping and fishing on the river or experiencing the Darling River Run.

Where is it?: Far Western and Outback. Tilpa is 130 km north of Wilcannia, 887 km north west of Sydney, beside the Darling River.

Events: The Louth Races (89 km), held in August, are a spectacular event with all the colour and excitement of a true outback horse-race meeting.

Originally a busy river port servicing the river trade and local agriculture, Tilpa was a 'crossroad' in the Outback as the bridging of the river here served as a stock crossing and port for the wool clip being transported down to Wentworth and on to either Echuca or Adelaide.

Things To See and Do
The Darling River at Tilpa has erratic flows and is often dry in periods of drought. However floods in 1956 saw the Darling River span 80 kilometres at its widest, isolating Tilpa for five months. When it is flowing, you can go fishing for Murray cod or yabbies in the Darling River and boating. Don't forget to purchase a fishing licence at the Tilpa Hotel. The region has prolific birdlife and wildlife, making it a great destination for camping, bird-watching and bushwalking.


About Tilpa: a tiny outback town that has seen better days, Tilpa has a population of just nine (at the 2006 census, the large surrounding area had a population of 159). But its shortage of people is more than made up for by its friendliness to travellers and quirky, unique charm that seems to characterise outback settlements like Tilpa.

Tilpa is unique in many ways. It has the only Boer War memorial that includes a commemorative to Harry (The Breaker) Morant, who was controversially executed by the British Army for murdering Boer prisoners. It also has the shortest heritage trail in Australia comprising just two signs on either side of the main road. And where else would you find a settlement with a cemetery with no internments? It's the only one in Australia - perhaps the world - as far as we can ascertain.

A legendary outback village on a flood plain, Tilpa is the meeting point of river settlements which sprouted up and down the Darling River in the 1800s, travelling from the top of New South Wales and the bottom of South Australia. In its heyday, Tilpa was an important river port with paddle steamers delivering supplies to nearby sheep stations and returning down river laden with bales of wool.

The wool was taken to Wentworth - at the confluence of the Darling and Murray Rivers - and then either to Adelaide or to Echuca for passage to the port at Melbourne. The town was home to a punt, allowing sheep, horses and people to cross the Darling River safely, for a fee. The punt has since been replaced by a bridge.