Rankins Springs, New South Wales: Travel guide and things to do

Rankins Springs, 562 km west of Sydney via the Great and Mid Western Highways, has a current population of 112. It is surrounded by land dedicated to wheat and oat farming and the breeding of cattle and sheep for beef and wool. While Rankins Springs has little to offer as a tourism venue it does have some lovely little parks and a number of recreational facilities (there is, for example, a golf course) and is a pleasant place for a stopover. There is a monument in town to explorer John Oxley who followed the Lachlan River into the region in 1817 and 1818.

The township was originally situated 10 km north-west of its current site along the Hillston Rd. It was established in 1869 around the springs after which it was named at the foot of the Conapaira Range. The springs were closed in 1957 but you can ask for directions to the site at the garage or general store in town. However the springs are located underground and only ever appear in very wet weather.

Things to see

Bushwalking in the area
Rankins Springs is a good base for those wishing to explore the scenic bushland of the Conapaira Range which is decorated with wildflowers in spring and has some fine picnic areas. Cocoparra National Park lies to the south (see entry on Griffith). The drive to Naradhan, 31 km north along a largely unsealed road, is also quite scenic.

Weethalle, 34 km east of Rankins Springs, is a tiny little 'one horse town' with a main street and nothing of great importance. It is a typical wheatbelt town with grain silos on one side of the road and the shopping area on the other.