Kidman Way
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The Kidman Way is an important highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, which is designated as State Highway 87. It is named after Sir Sidney Kidman, Australian cattle king and philantrophist who owned a large number of cattle stations along the path, many still owned by his descendants. It is an important beef route linking the area to Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. It is fully sealed and provides motorists glimpses of the outback without resorting to four-wheel drive.
The Kidman Way runs almost 800 km through outback New South Wales. The Kidman Way officially starts just outside Jerilderie, which is 35 km north of Finley on the Newell Highway. From Jerilderie, The Kidman Way heads north through the lush Riverina area towards Griffith, passing through the small towns of Coleambally and Darlington Point, where there are some picnic areas beside the Murrumbidgee River. Griffith is a large regional centre, in the heart of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA), surrounded by vineyards (seventy per cent of NSW’s wine is produced in this area), orchards and ricefields.
From Griffith, The Kidman Way heads north 366 km through the vast, open western plains to Cobar. This is where the outback begins, with plenty of kangaroos and emus and giant tumbleweeds roll across the roads. The first 100 or so kilometres from the MIA are still fairly green passing through towns such as Goolgowi and Merriwagga. Hillston is the next town along The Kidman Way.
The stretch between Hillston and Cobar is long, straight and unbroken except for the village of Mount Hope. There are no fuel stations between Hillston and Cobar. The Kidman Way continues 160 km through Mallee and semi-arid woodlands on to Cobar, once famous for copper. From then on the road takes to Cobar, Bourke and Barringun (292 km), where the road cuts through western Queensland to reach Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria.
