Murrin Bridge is located 12km North of Lake Cargelligo and is home to approx. 100 Indigenous Elders, Men, Women and Children.
A little back story about how Murrin Bridge came to be:
Around the 1890s 22 Ngiyampaa apical ancestors were taken from around Ngiyampaa country and forced to live at Carowa tank. This would go on to be the first mission on Ngiyampaa country which was established in 1926. Carowa tanks population began to grow when aboriginal men woman and children were stolen from their families and tribes and stripped of their culture and placed here to live and learn the white fella ways. This is now known as the stolen generation.
As stories go a clever man sung the tank dry and in 1933 and the 200-300 Indigenous people that lived at Carowa tank were sent by truck and train to the newly established Menindee mission. Menindee mission was made up of indigenous people from Wilcannia, Pooncarie Reserve, Broken Hill and Paakantyi missions.
When the aboriginal people arrived and found that the mission was built on a burial site and that they would be residing with people from different tribes they were shocked and distressed and this caused sickness and conflict amongst the aboriginal people.
By 1949 the Menindee mission was shut down and the aboriginal people were sent to either the new mission at Murrin Bridge or into Menindee.
In 1999 a vineyard was established by the community of murrin bridge with a total of around 10-12 ha of grape vines producing shiraz and chardonnay. Murrin Bridge wines is no longer in production and the vineyard was deconstructed in 2017. So if you ever come across a bottle hold onto it!