Linked by a lift-span bridge over the mighty Murray River, twin towns Barham and Koondrook blend history, nature and riverside charm in one peaceful getaway.
Sitting on opposite sides of the Murray River, the charming twin towns of Barham and Koondrook offer a laidback mix of history, nature and country hospitality. With riverside walks, picnic areas, red gum forests and wide-open skies, they make a peaceful yet rewarding stop for those exploring this iconic region.
One of Barham’s newest landmarks is its spectacular silo art, completed in April 2025 by acclaimed muralist Gus Eagleton. It’s a single silo with three sections that each share a story of this beautiful region. One side honours Australia’s military past, with an Australian Light Horse rider leading a ceremonial march alongside three members of the Bendigo Highland Pipe Band. Another panel celebrates the area’s Traditional Owners, portraying an Aboriginal man alongside a long-neck turtle and a river bird — creatures with deep cultural ties to the Murray River. The final scene captures the essence of the Murray River, with a paddle steamer gliding past ancient river red gums. It's a great place to visit, so be sure to bring your camera along!
Pints and paddle steamers
Mates Royal Hotel in Koondrook, dating back to 1880, once served cooling ales to paddle steamer captains and their crews.
Koondrook, a historic village at the confluence of the Murray River and Gunbower Creek, was a hive of activity from the 1880s, when paddle steamers laden with timber, wheat and wool plied the river — then a busy highway before motor vehicles
The hotel’s co-owner Shane Membrey mans the bar at this classic country pub, festooned with the stuffed heads of long-departed deer.
“No-one remembers if royalty ever visited, but the ‘royal’ part of the hotel’s name has always stuck,” said Shane as he poured a local a beer.
Shane Membrey, co-owner of Mates Royal Hotel in Koondrook
There’s not much that Shane and his wife Susan, who have owned Mates for 30 years, don’t know about this peaceful section of the mighty Murray River, just under 300km northwest of Melbourne and approximately 800km southwest of Sydney.
Shane was ‘born and bred’ in Barham in NSW, separated from Koondrook by the circa 1904 bridge that connects the two towns.
The Barham–Koondrook Bridge, one of the oldest surviving lift span bridges across the Murray, has a central section that can be elevated so paddle steamers could pass through on the way back and forth to Echuca. It’s still occasionally raised today when large watercraft pass through town.
While the combined population of the twin towns is around 2600, we found the quiet countryside here rich with natural attractions.
Exploring Gunbower Island
None more so than Gunbower Island, a 50km-long, 26,400-hectare floodplain considered to be Australia’s largest inland island.
The island — known as Kanbowro to its inhabitants of more than 40,000 years, the Barapa Barapa and Yorta Yorta people — contains magnificent river red gums in riverine forest, large tracts of black box in floodplain woodland and wide swathes of seasonal wetlands.
Archaeological evidence reveals continuous habitation of the island over the millennia, including shell middens, scar trees, earth ovens and burial sites.
After crossing the rustic Condidorio’s Bridge in Koondrook, which spans Gunbower Creek, travellers can explore the island’s network of gravel roads. The 21st century soon feels far away here.
Condidorio’s Bridge
Gunbower Island
In 2010 Parks Victoria created the 9434-hectare Gunbower National Park — previously a state forest — to protect the island’s ancient history and magnificent forests.
Gunbower Island is an internationally significant conservation area, listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
Its incredible diversity of native flora and fauna includes more than 170 species of birds, 24 reptile species, around 200 plant species, and wildlife galore — you might see kangaroos, wallabies, goannas, freshwater turtles, carpet python — even elusive platypus.
A haven for wildlife
On the banks of the Murray River or Gunbower Creek where all is tranquil save for the laughter of kookaburras and chattering of parrots, people toss in a line to try and lure native fish including Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch and Australian catfish. They also might unhappily reel in a carp.
A network of gravel roads and tracks zigzag across the island from north to south, leading to bush-camping sites by the riverbank, where travellers in the know park their caravans in some of the most serene spots imaginable.
It’s BYO everything at these sites, with 4WD vehicles recommended, particularly in wet weather.
Pastoral roots of the region
European settlement of the region followed the 1836 expedition of Major Thomas Mitchell and his party of 25 men, including nine convicts or former convicts.
Acting on instructions from Governor Sir Richard Bourke, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, Mitchell was tasked with tracing the course of the Darling River to the Murray. He was then to follow the Murray to its junction with the Murrumbidgee River, before continuing along the southern bank back to settled parts of the colony.
“The country consisted, as far as the glass enabled me examine it, of open, grassy plains, beautifully variegated with serpentine lines of wood,” wrote Mitchell.
“The country … was too inviting to be left behind us unexplored; and I, therefore, determined to turn into it without further delay,” added Mitchell, who from here famously ignored his instructions to return to settled areas via the Murray River and instead continued south-west to what is now Portland on Victoria’s far southwest coast.
European pastoral settlement soon followed. In 1843, Edward Green acquired the lease of land the northern side of the Murray, naming his vast 46,400-hectare station Barham after his wife’s maiden name.
A year later, Archibald Campbell settled on Gannawarra Station across the river, covering an equally expansive 42,000 hectares. Today Gannawarra is the name of the local shire council.
Selectors followed in greater numbers towards the end of Victoria’s 1851 gold rush, taking up land along the southern bank of the river. Others turned to the rapidly developing timber industry, helping to shape the region’s early economy.
Industry on the riverbank
Surrounded by vast red gum forests, Koondrook drew timber-cutters from the early 1870s, with logging camps soon springing up in the area.
The first building of substance in Koondrook was a three-storey flour mill in 1878, followed soon after by a timber mill.
Red gum, prized for its durability, was felled to produce railway sleepers and to build and fuel the paddle steamers and barges that once worked the Murray. Notably, the PS Melbourne, now a tourist attraction in Mildura, and the PS Emmylou, operating in Echuca, were built in Koondrook.
In 1882 a wharf was constructed in Koondrook at a picturesque bend of the river and, eight years later, the Koondrook Goods Shed was built next to it to store timber, wheat and wool.
Koondrook Good Shed
Koondrook Wharf
No paddle steamers operate here today, but in the peaceful surrounds you can imagine the river busy with the thump, thump, thump of paddles hitting the water 150-years ago.
One section of the Goods Shed was used as the office of the Kerang–Koondrook Tramway, a narrow-gauge line that opened in 1889 to connect the small town to the Victorian Rail Network in nearby Kerang.
The 21km route carried school children, sporting teams, produce and timber, stopping at farm stations such as Hinksons, Teal Point and Gannawarra along the way.
Kerang–Koondrook Tramway
Kerang–Koondrook Tramway in Gannawarra
While the tramway’s passenger service closed in 1977, its parcel and freight service in 1978, and the line closed completely in 1981, one of Koondrook’s original timber mills is still in operation.
The Arbuthnot Sawmills, built in 1889, continues to produce everything from river red gum furniture timber to red gum decking, and offers guided tours for visitors.
Outdoor life and river leisure
Sport is big in this neck of the woods. Just across the river on the NSW side, Barham’s CluBarham 18-hole championship golf course is regarded as one of the Murray’s major golfing destinations.
Lawn bowlers are spoilt at CluBarham’s extensive lawn bowls facilities, which include undercover greens so well-equipped it is used for some state championships.
For those who enjoy a relaxing paddle, the Gunbower Island Canoe Trail is located 6km south of Koondrook on the Kerang Road. The creek spreads into Safe’s Lagoon, a wetland rich with aquatic plants, wildlife and birds. Paddlers often see birdlife such as sea eagles, ibis, spoonbills, herons and parrots on the 5km trail, which takes around two hours to complete.
Birdlife and wildlife are also generally spotted on Koondrook Red Gum Forest Walk, with two leisurely bush treks that offer different half-day routes on Gunbower Island. Both the 13.2km Turtle Loop and 9.1km Eagle Loop link several historical, cultural and ecological sites of interest.
In addition to ancient Aboriginal sites, Gunbower Island features remnants of early European settlement, which those who explore the island’s tracks on longer hikes or by 4WD can discover, including school sites, cemeteries, timber mill sites and a few old settlers’ huts.
Slow down by the Murray
If you’re after quiet bush camps, rich river history, abundant wildlife and plenty of outdoor adventures, these twin towns on the banks of the mighty Murray River won’t disappoint. Koondrook and Barham offer peaceful spots away from the bustle, with plenty of fascinating stories waiting to be uncovered.
Plan your trip to Barham and Koondrook
Barham Visitor Information Centre is located within Barham Newsagency:
36 Noorong Street, Barham NSW 2732
P: 03 5453 2043
Open hours: 6am–5pm Monday to Friday; 6am–12 noon Saturday, 6am–11am Sunday.
Where to stay with your caravan
- BIG4 Barham: Nestled amid shady trees on the Murray River just out of town, BIG4 Barham is an ideal spot for some quiet R&R with all the mod cons. Facilities include a swimming pool, games room, kids’ playground, kayak hire and a well-equipped camp kitchen. Powered sites from $49 per double per night; riverfront powered sites from $53.
BIG4 Barham riverfront powered site (Image BIG4)
- Barham Caravan and Tourist Park: Located in town on the Murray River, this caravan park offers powered all-grass sites, including ensuite sites. Facilities include a camp kitchen, barbecues and boat ramp. Powered sites $50 per double per night.
- Koondrook Caravan Park: Situated at the junction of the Murray River and Gunbower Creek, near Mates Royal Hotel, the old wharf, Goods Shed and general store. Facilities include sheltered barbecues, a camp kitchen and a local boat ramp. Ensuite powered site from $50 per night (minimum two nights); powered site from $45.
Koondrook Caravan Park
- Gunbower National Park: For a list of free camping spots within the park, head to the Parks Victoria website.
For more information on the Koondrook region, including free camping for self-contained vehicles, visit thegannawarra.com.au
Where to eat
Koondrook and Barham offer a variety dining options including Thai and Chinese restaurants, three pubs, cafes and bakeries. Local highlights include:
- Long Paddock Food Store, Koondrook: A real find with an inspired menu featuring locally sourced produce. Try the slow-cooked lamb in a passata sauce tossed through gnocchi; Meredith Goat’s Cheese, leek, bacon and thyme tart; Kimchi pancake with sticky pork belly; or homemade fig and honey ice-cream. Open 8.30am–2pm Wednesday–Sunday.
- Mates Royal Hotel, Koondrook: Hearty pub fare that won’t break the bank. Burgers, a range of parmas, big T-bone steaks and popular mixed grills attract diners from all over. Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 5.30pm–8pm. Bookings advised.
- CluBarham, Barham: Bistro menu includes anything from Moroccan lamb salad, Katsu prawn burger and River Gum gourmet sausages to prawn and scallop pappardelle (lunch and dinner, seven days). Don’s Kitchen onsite serves Chinese and Malaysian cuisine Wednesday to Sunday (lunch and dinner).
Tours and treks
- Arbuthnot Sawmills: Tours of this local red gum sawmill are available Monday to Friday at 10.30am and 2pm (except public holidays). Groups of 10 or more $5.50 per person, children $3.
- Gunbower Island Canoe Trail
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Koondrook Red Gum Forest Walk
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Gunbower Island Walks and drives
(Please note, all native plants, animals, historic sites and geographical features on Gunbower Island are protected by law.) - Barham–Koondrook Historical Society Inc.: Open Wednesdays 10.30am–4pm or by appointment. Located on Punt Road, Koondrook. Email: bkhs3580@gmail.com
Detour to Murrabit
Just 24km north-west of Koondrook, the small town of Murrabit is worth a visit. On the way, you’ll pass hamlets such as Myall.
- Murrabit Country Market: The largest country market in the region, this monthly event began in 1977 with 19 stalls gathered around the Murrabit Hall. These days, this quiet village still comes to life on the first Saturday of the month, when up to 100 stalls sell anything from fruit and veg, clothes and plants to homemade cakes.
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Miss Keats Picnic Park: A few kilometres north of Murrabit is a turnoff to Miss Keats Picnic Park, an area dedicated to Miss Margaret Keats MBE, a Murrabit local who was the first woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from the University of Melbourne in 1923.
This tranquil location is an ideal spot to view the Murrabit Bridge, the first all-steel lift span bridge to be built across the Murray River, where you can park your caravan for free and relax before an open fire in the fire pits provided and lap up the serenity. - Murrabit Cod Challenge: Held annually in mid-March at Miss Keats Picnic Park, this fishing competition is a local highlight.
Miss Keats Picnic Park
Murrabit Bridge
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