Kidman Way

The Kidman Way runs close to 800km through the heart and soul of outback New South Wales. See our custom Google Map below.

The road is named in honour of a pioneering visionary and Australia’s Cattle King, Sir Sidney Kidman.

The story goes that young Sidney started out in the 1870s with little in the way of possessions, working and traveling in western New South Wales.

The cattle he worked journeyed from the flood plains of western Queensland and South Australia to the markets of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

He saw plenty of what drought and harsh conditions could do to cattle, and to the men who worked them.

The problem Kidman solved was how to drove cattle long distances in these conditions, and still get herds to market fat and rested.

Kidman’s solution was a chain of cattle stations linking the best grazing with the best cattle markets.  He built himself a beef road where he could move stock from one property to another during drought.

Some sixty years later Kidman was Australia’s greatest land owner.

His vision was reality and he owned some 100 stations stretching from the Gulf of Carpentaria south through New South Wales, and covering 125,000 square miles.

All of the United Kingdom could fit inside Kidman’s Cattle Kingdom.

Now the Kidman Way offers an insight into the struggles and triumphs of living in outback Australia – all with the luxury of a sealed road.

You will find a rich history of explorers, bushrangers, drovers, miners and so much more along the way.