Narrabri

Narrabri is a town (population 5,903 in 2016) in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia at the intersection of the Newell and Kamilaroi Highways.

Understand
The indigenous Kamilaroi people are the original inhabitants of the district. The European explorers John Oxley and Allan Cunningham traversed the district in the early 19th century, but the first European settler was the escaped convict George (The Butcher) Clarke, whose tale of a river leading to an inland sea prompted the explorer Major Thomas Mitchell to throughly explore the area in order to open it up for settlement. The first farm, Nurrabry Run, was established in 1834 and from which Narrabri derived its name, with the town site surveyed in 1848. Narrabri is a major cotton farming centre, with wheat, beef, and lamb farms as well. Mount Kaputar National Park is a popular attraction, and the nearby radio telescopes at the Paul Wild Observatory bring many visitors too.

Narrabri is the main centre of the Narrabri Shire Local Government Area.

By car
Narrabri is on the junction of the Newell Highway (A39) and Kamilaroi Highway (B51).

It is 101 km south of Moree and 120 km north-east of Coonabarabran on the Newell Highway.

Narrabri is 183 km south-east of Walgett via Burren Junction and Wee Waa and 96.5 km north-west of Gunnedah via Boggabri on the Kamilaroi Highway.

By train
Trains run from Sydney to Moree daily (Route 243), departing Central Station in Sydney at 9:30AM, arriving at Werris Creek at 14:57PM, at Gunnedah at 3:15PM, at Boggabri at 4:10PM, at Narrabri at 4:52PM, and arriving at Moree at 6PM.

The train departs Moree daily (Route 244) at 8:05AM, arriving at Narrabri at 8:45AM, at Boggabri at 9:47AM, at Gunnedah at 10:14AM, at Werris Creek at 11:05AM, and arriving at Central Station in Sydney at 4:39PM.

It is possible to change trains at Werris Creek for services to Tamworth and Armidale, however bookings are not available from Werris Creek Railway Station itself, so reservations need to be made long before departure. The service (Route 233) departs Werris Creek daily at 2:57PM, arrives at Tamworth at 3:37PM, and arrives at Armidale at 5:35PM. The service (Route 224) departs Armidale at 8:19AM, arrives at Tamworth at 10:06AM, and arrives at Werris Creek at 11:07AM before continuing on to Sydney.

A timetable and map can be downloaded here. Bookings are essential.

Get around
Private transport is the most convenient way of getting around Narrabri, and is essential to explore the district.

By rental car
There is a car rental agency at Narrabri Airport.

Go next

 * Moree - north of Narrabri: 101 km via Newell Highway northbound, through Edgeroi, through Bellata, through Gurley, pass the Moree Regional Airport on the left (1 hr 9 min)
 * Goondiwindi (Queensland) - north of Narrabri: 224 km via Newell Highway northbound, through Moree, at Boggabilla turn left/north onto North Street/Newell Highway and continue out of town to Goondiwindi (2 hr 27 min)
 * Inverell - north-east of Narrabri: 177 km via Newell Highway (A39) northbound, turn right onto Killarney Gap Road, pass Sawn Rocks and be mindful of the twisting turning road for the next few kilometres, cross the Horton River bridge, at Bingara turn left onto Maitland Street then right onto Finch Street then left/north onto Finch Street and cross the Gwydir River bridge and continue out of town on Allan Cunningham Road (B95), turn right onto Delungra Road, pass the Myall Creek Memorial Site, at Delungra turn right/east onto Inverell Street/Gwydir Highway (B76), continue into Inverell (2 hr 12 min)
 * Barraba - east of Narrabri: 129 km via via Newell Highway (A39) northbound, turn right onto Killarney Gap Road, pass Sawn Rocks and be mindful of the twisting turning road for the next few kilometres, cross the Rocky Creek Bridge and pass the Rocky Creek Glacial Area, turn right/south onto Horton Road, through Upper Horton, turn right/south onto Cobbadah Road (B95), continue into Barraba (1 hr 37 min)
 * Armidale - east of Narrabri: 276 km via Newell Highway (A39) southbound, turn left/south onto Kamilaroi Highway (B51), through Baan Baa, through Boggabri, through Gunnedah then turn left/east onto the Oxley Highway (B56) and cross the Mooki River bridge, through Carroll, through Somerton, in Tamworth turn right onto Marius Street and continue out of town on the Oxley Highway/New England Highway, through Nemingha, through Kootingal, through Moonbi, past Bendemeer on the New England Highway (A15), through Uralla, continue into Armidale (3 hr 30 min)
 * Gunnedah - south-east of Narrabri: 97 km via Newell Highway (A39) southbound, turn left/south onto Kamilaroi Highway (B51), through Baan Baa, through Boggabri, continue into Gunnedah (1 hr 9 min)
 * Willow Tree - south-east of Narrabri: 193 km south-east of Narrabri: 97 km via Newell Highway (A39) southbound, turn left/south onto Kamilaroi Highway (B51), through Baan Baa, through Boggabri, through Gunnedah on the Kamilaroi Highway, through Curlewis, through Breeza, through Quirindi on the Kamilaroi Highway, turn right/south onto the New England Highway (A15) and continue into Willow Tree (2 hr 11 min) Continue south on the New England Highway to Murrurundi and the Hunter Region.
 * Coonabarabran - south-west of Narrabri: 120 km via Newell Highway southbound, at the T-junction with the Oxley Highway turn right and stay on the Newell Highway, continue into Coonabarabran (1 hr 15 min)
 * Gilgandra - south-west of Narrabri: 214 km via Newell Highway southbound, at the T-junction with the Oxley Highway turn right and stay on the Newell Highway, through Coonabarabran, pass the Castlereagh Highway turn-off on the left, cross the Castlereagh River (2 hr 17 min)
 * Dubbo - south-west of Narrabri: 264 km via Newell Highway (A39) southbound, at the T-junction with the Oxley Highway turn right and stay on the Newell Highway, through Coonabarabran, pass the Castlereagh Highway turn-off on the left, cross the Castlereagh River, in Gilgandra turn left and continue out of town on the Newell Highway southbound, through Brocklehurst, continue into Dubbo (3 hr)
 * Wee Waa - north-west of Narrabri: 41.5 km via Newell Highway (A39) northbound, turn left/east onto Wee Waa Road/Kamilaroi Highway, cross the Namoi River Bridge, continue ahead into Wee Waa (31 min)
 * Burren Junction - north-west of Narrabri: 92 km Newell Highway (A39) northbound, turn left/east onto Wee Waa Road/Kamilaroi Highway, cross the Namoi River Bridge, through Wee Waa on Boolcarrol Road/Kamilaroi Highway, cross 2 bridges and pass the bore baths on the left, continue into Burren Junction (1 hr 3 min)
 * Walgett - north-west of Narrabri: 184 km via Kamilaroi Highway westbound, through Wee Waa, through Burren Junction, continue into Walgett (2 hr)
 * Lightning Ridge - north-west of Narrabri: 252 km Kamilaroi Highway westbound, through Wee Waa, through Burren Junction, before Walgett turn right/north onto the Castlereagh Highway (B55), cross the Barwon River bridge, pass the Gwydir Highway turn-off on the right, turn right onto Bill O'Brien Way and continue into Lightning Ridge (2 hr 41 min)
 * Brewarrina - north-west of Narrabri: 317 km via via Kamilaroi Highway westbound, through Wee Waa, through Burren Junction,in Walgett n Walgett turn right/west onto Wee Waa Street/Kamilaroi Highway (B76) and continue out of town, cross the Barwon River bridge, continue on the Kamilaroi Highway to Brewarrina (3 hr 25 min)
 * Bourke - west of Narrabri: 415 km via Kamilaroi Highway westbound, through Wee Waa, through Burren Junction, in Walgett turn right/west onto Wee Waa Street/Kamilaroi Highway (B76) and continue out of town, cross the Barwon River bridge, through Brewarrina, continue into Bourke (4 hr 27 min)