Darlington Point

Postcode: 2706

Darlington Point is a small town on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in the Riverina district of western New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Shire local government area. The township centre is four kilometres from the Sturt Highway, along Kidman Way. Darlington Point is 631 km west of Sydney and 33 km south of Griffith. In 2001, it had an estimated population of 993, including 147 indigenous persons (14.8%) and 45 foreign-born persons (4.5%).

The first pastoral run near present-day Darlington Point, on the north bank of the Murrumbidgee, was taken up in 1844 by John Peter; he named the run "Cuba" after the Aboriginal word for a locally-common Acacia tree.

In 1866 a punt (previously operating at Wagga Wagga) was purchased for use at the Darlington Point-Waddai crossing; the owner of the punt was Jacob Abrahams, previously publican of the Darlington Inn, who had opened a general store at the township. The punt was said to be one of the largest in the colony, with the capacity to carry 1,700 sheep in a single trip.

As the town centre became established in the southern township the name 'Darlington Point' was eventually used for the settlements on both banks of the river. The town's main street is called Punt Road, a reminder of the public transport service that operated to ferry vehicles, stock and passengers across the river.

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