Anabranch

Winding its way through the remote heart of far southwest New South Wales, the Great Darling Anabranch tells a story carved not just in water, but in time itself.

Running roughly parallel to the Lower Darling River, the Anabranch mirrors its sibling’s journey—but in reverse. Flowing from the Menindee Lakes and arcing westward before finally meeting the Murray downstream of the Darling’s mouth, this ephemeral waterway charts an ancient course. It was once thought to be the main channel of the Darling River, before the river’s path lurched eastward some ten thousand years ago, leaving behind a ghost of its former self.

Today, the Anabranch flows only when upstream conditions allow, transforming from a dry, sandy corridor into a chain of shimmering pools and billabongs. Along its banks, a surreal tapestry unfolds: crescent-shaped lunettes, sweeping dunes, and timeless red sandhills stand as silent sentinels to millennia of geological change. Saltbush plains stretch to the horizon, punctuated by gnarled river red gums and the scattered remnants of pastoral history.

But beyond the surface lies something more profound. The Anabranch is not just a remnant of ancient hydrology—it is a lifeline, a cultural landscape, a memory etched into Country. It shapes the identity of the entire southwestern corner of New South Wales, connecting river systems, ecosystems, and people.

Seen from above, the Anabranch becomes a sinuous line of memory and resilience—a whisper of the river’s former might, etched across the land like a scar that time could not quite erase.