Narrandera

Main Attraction

Murrumbidgee River

Narrandera is an elegant town with its environment and history offering a unique country town experience.  Known for its tree lined streets, parks and gardens, Narrandera is often referred to by travellers as an oasis. The town is blessed with abundant water and hugs the banks of Lake Talbot and the Murrumbidgee River.  Centrally located in the heart of the NSW Riverina, Narrandera is situated at the junction of two National Highways, the Sturt and the Newell, and the gateway to the productive Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

Be revitalised by country fresh air while you wet your toes in the Murrumbidgee River, or maybe enjoy a scenic drive along river roads. There are numerous activities from bush walks, heritage walks, antique and boutique stores, cycling, golf, tennis, swimming, fishing or a number of water activities such as water skiing and canoeing.

Education/Schools

The Narrandera LGA offers a solid range of education and training facilities

• Narrandera High School (to Year 12)
• Narrandera Primary School
• Grong Grong Primary School
• Barellan Primary School
• St Joseph's Catholic School
• Narrandera East Infants School (to Year 2)
• Narrandera Pre-School
• Narrandera Early Childhood Learning Centre
• TAFE NSW Riverina Institute – Narrandera Campus
• Riverina Community College – outreach courses

Sporting

A healthy and active community, sport is an integral feature of life in the Narrandera LGA which has an enviable variety of premier sporting facilities and opportunities:

• One of the most highly ranked 18-hole Golf Courses in rural NSW
• Narrandera sportsground is considered the best in southern and western NSW
• Newly refurbished basketball / indoor sport stadium
• First class rural racecourse track and club facilities
• Swimming complex with Olympic size pool and aquatic area
• Lake Talbot
• First class Tennis Club and courts with latest plexi-cushion surface
• Squash Courts and Gymnasium
• Cricket fields
• Highly rated Lawn Bowls Club
• A range of sporting ovals

Health & Medical

Narrandera offers standard modern health, ancillary and community health services with visiting specialists attending on a regular basis – all provided without long waiting lists.

• Hospital with radiology services
• Four general practitioners
• Dentist
• Optometrists
• Visiting specialists
• Pathology, and
• Immunisation clinic
• Massage therapists
• Childcare nurses

Recreation

A huge range of activities are on offer where locals and visitors can relax, play and just have fun:

• A spectacular park with adventure playground, picnic and BBQ facilities, bush walking, golf, lawn bowls, tennis, cricket, netball, football, softball, shooting, horse racing, athletics, softball, hockey, and squash. The Lake Talbot Aquatic Centre and Murrumbidgee River offer significant opportunities for a range of water sports.
• The area also boasts a significant number of social and community organisations including Service Clubs, library groups, arts & crafts groups, youth and childcare playgroups to name just a few.

Transport

The transport network serving Narrandera is truly first class.  Whether by road, rail, or air, passenger or freight, Narrandera has it all: 

• Ideally situated 2 kms from the crossroads of the Newell and Sturt Highways
• Countrylink Rail operates daily services to Sydney and Melbourne
• Coach services also operate between Sydney and interstate capitals
• The airport, located on the outskirts of Narrandera is serviced by flights twice daily to Sydney and to other major regions out of the neighbouring Griffith and Wagga Wagga airports

Shopping

From supermarkets to music stores; great cafés, art studios, antiques, furniture, clothing, gifts and accessories – Narrandera has it all – not to forget the added bonus of finding a car park with ease.

Entertainment

• Lake Talbot and the Bundidgerry Creek - Offer excellent road access with concrete boat ramp and grassed area with seating. This site is perfect for bush walking, picnicking, fishing and water skiing.
• The Narrandera Flora, Fauna and Koala Reserves - are just off the highway and have fantastic picnic facilities and plenty of shade. This area has good interpretive signage, and is also suitable for swimming and koala spotting.
• The Five Mile Reserve - A perfect spot for picnics, water skiing and camping. It has sandy banks and slow currents, making it great for swimming.
• Highway Bridge - This area is great for fishing and picnicking with a boat ramp, pontoon and covered barbeque area.
• The Narrandera Fisheries Centre – Experience live aquarium displays, videos, picnic area and free use of BBQ’s.
• Parkside Cottage Museum – A plethora of historic artifacts from the region including significant Colonial, river and Chinese items
• Other natural attractions include the Narrandera Wetlands where you can view the wreck of the historic paddle steamer the Wagga Wagga, the Koala Reserve and the Bundidgerry Walking Trail. It is in Narrandera where the River widens and makes its steady journey towards the Hay Plains.

Careers

Employment opportunities are based on the strong rural economy.  There are also increasing opportunities in the service areas of health, education, aged care and local government.  Advances in information technology, broadband and satellite communication systems are creating a wealth of opportunity for consultancy & other specialist businesses operating from the home office.

• Agriculture - wheat, sheep, potato farming, flour mill, agricultural engineering, SWIFT cattle feedlots/abattoir, piggeries, lavender farm, aquaculture, horticulture
• Actively promoting value adding agricultural opportunities with detailed studies on feedlots, wool processing and processing of grain products.

Are there any major employers in your region? If so, please provide information.

• Essential Energy, SWIFT Beef, BioAg, PIC Australia, Coles, Grants Cypress Sawmilling, Narrandera Shire Council and the Manildra Group.

Other Advantages of Narrandera

• Large capacity fibre optic infrastructure
• Reticulated natural gas and electricity widely available
• Highly developed telecommunications infrastructure
• Good transport infrastructure with most major highway and rail corridors crossing the region
• International reputation for food and fibre manufacturing