This brown sign destination for the Condamine River is at a park next to a bridge over the river in Killarney, marking the start of the longest river system in Australia.
The start of Condamine River is in the Main Range National Park at The Head, near Carrs Lookout along the Falls Drive. Condamine Gorge’s 14 river crossings drive is upstream from Killarney where you can drive along the river, crossing it 14 times.
The river drops more than 500 metres over its 657-kilometre course, passing through Killarney, Warwick, and Chinchilla. At Surat, it heads south-west becoming the Balonne River. It becomes the Culgoa River before joining the Darling River near Bourke.
The park is fairly simple but has flushing toilets and a sheltered picnic table.
The playground helps the kids to stretch their legs while lunch is organised.
The river runs along the length of the park but with steep banks, accessibility is more for viewing the river rather than getting close and interacting with it.
There are a couple of monument items in the park. One is near the entrance, in front of the brown sign for Condamine River. It is to dedicate the bridge to Ellen Boyd Backhouse, a district pioneer and community worker.
The name of the park is named after her, Ellen Backhouse Park. Ellen was nearly 100 years old when the dedication was laid and aged 103 when she passed away in 1984.
The other monument is a sculpture art piece near the playground, called Eternal Flow by sculpture Lana Tyacke. A plaque reads “A prayer for a clean flowing river system from Killarney through to the Murray, out to the Southern Ocean”.
