Tilpa is a town in the
Far West Far West may refer to:
Places
* Western Canada, or the West
** British Columbia Coast
* Western United States, or Far West
** West Coast of the United States
* American frontier, or Far West, Old West, or Wild West
* Far West (Taixi), a term used ...
region of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia. The town is located on the
Darling River
The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...
, in the
Central Darling Shire
Central Darling Shire is a local government area in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Barrier Highway. Central Darling Shire was constituted in 1959 and at , it is the largest incorporated lo ...
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
, north west of the state capital, Sydney.
At the , Tilpa and the large surrounding area had a population of 46.
The town itself is said to have a population of nine.
The Darling River at Tilpa has erratic flows and is often dry in periods of
drought
A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...
. However
floods in 1956 saw the Darling River span at its widest, isolating Tilpa for five months.
History
In its heyday, Tilpa was an important river port with
paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...
s delivering supplies to nearby
sheep station
A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...
s and returning down river laden with bales of wool.
The wool was taken to
Wentworth—at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the Darling and
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
s—and then either to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
or to
Echuca
Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...
for passage to the port at
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
.
The town was home to a
punt, allowing sheep, horses and people to cross the Darling River safely, for a fee.
In June 1886 Tilpa was described as "a small township on the Darling" with "a good store", a telegraph office and "a commodious hotel". The township was known as a crossing-place on the Darling River, on the route between the Paroo district and the Sydney market. A punt was owned and operated by a man called Williams, who charged 25 shillings per thousand for crossing sheep.
The punt has since been replaced by a bridge. The photo of the punt and the bridge dates it to after 1963 as that is when the bridge was completed.
Culture
The local
pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
—the Tilpa Hotel—was built over 100 years ago. A timber and
corrugated iron
Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...
building, the inside walls are covered in messages and autographs placed by visitors in return for a donation to the
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgent and emergency medica ...
.
A feature of the town is a
Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
memorial in Australia that includes a commemorative to
Harry "Breaker" Morant, who was controversially executed by the British Army for murdering Boer prisoners.
The town also claims to have the smallest heritage trail in Australia (two signs across the street from each other) and the only cemetery in Australia with no interments.
[ : Confirmation of lack of graves in cemetery.]
Economy
Tilpa is mainly an agricultural area, with sheep grazing the primary activity, and some pockets of
irrigated land
Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...
along the river. Tourism, including farmstay programs on local stations, is the other major local industry. Fishing and camping are popular along the river.
The prolonged drought in 2007 saw Tilpa run out of
potable water
Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...
. A Sydney-based company has offered to trial a portable
water filtration
A water filter removes impurities by lowering contamination of water using a fine physical barrier, a chemical process, or a biological process. Filters cleanse water to different extents, for purposes such as: providing agricultural irrigation, ...
plant to improve the quality of both the river and
bore water.
See also
*
Boolpoora Lake
References
External links
{{authority control
Towns in New South Wales
Populated places on the Darling River
River ports of Australia