Wentworth self-guided walking tour
Discover Wentworth on foot. This 4-kilometre self-guided walking tour will take you to monuments and memorials, introduce you to colourful characters, pass historic buildings, and reveal stories of the once-busy wharf, the rivers, saving the town from flood and 100-year old paddleboats.
Starting out
Make your way to Wentworth by car, catch the Coomealla Bus Line or Wentworth Club Courtesy Bus from Mildura. Arrive at the Wentworth Club or park in the Fotherby Park car park. If catching the bus, walk back across the Darling River to Fotherby Park.
The Possum Man
In Fotherby Park you can see a life-size statue of a man known as "The Possum", who lived off the land in and around Wentworth during the Great Depression. He slept in trees (thus his name), walked everywhere, swam the rivers and lived the life of a hermit. He avoided human contact for some 50 years before his death at the age of 81 years.
Paddlesteamer Ruby
The P.S. Ruby turned 100 in 2007. This historic riverboat once delivered mail and ferried passengers along the Murray River between Morgan in South Australia and Swan Hill. To celebrate her centenary, a group of local volunteers undertook an 11-year renovation project to rebuild P.S. Ruby from the hull up. Call in and see the result of their labour.
Wentworth Wharf
Walk across the Darling River to the wharf, where dozens of paddleboats once docked. Wentworth was a busy centre where wool arrived from outlying stations for onward transportation to cities and export markets via the Murray River.
Continue to Darling Street to the Wentworth Visitor Information Centre (on your right) and the main street of Wentworth with its historic hotels and shops.
The Fergie Tractor monument
In 1956, with the town of Wentworth threatened by rising flood waters from both the Murray and Darling rivers, Fergie tractors were put into operation to build a levee bank. The town was saved. Australia's first monument to the Fergie tractor stands at the corner of Adams and Adelaide streets.
Where rivers meet
Follow Adelaide Street and turn left into Short Street, then follow Cadell Street past the historic St Ignatius Early High School. At Junction Park climb the viewing platform where you can see the junction of the Murray and Darling rivers, which drain one-fifth of the Australian continent. Further along Cadell Street is Lock 10 the recipient of the 2003 prettiest Lock Award.
Old Wentworth Gaol
Return to Beverley Street and turn left past the Wentworth Sports Complex to the Old Wentworth Gaol, which was built in 1881. Prisoners were sentenced at the local courthouse in Darling Street.
Located opposite the gaol and contains a collection of more than 30,000 artifacts and memorabilia from the old days of Wentworth. It houses one of Australia's biggest photographic collection on river boats and of Australia's mega-fauna.
Return to the Wentworth Services Club via Darling Street where you will pass the courthouse on your way.