On their informative Australian travel website, the NRMA declares: "It would be stretching the truth to describe Moree as a tourist destination. People either come here for the artesian spa or for a stopover while on their way to somewhere else, like Lightning Ridge." This is a blunt appraisal but true -- it is only a place you pass through. My family were only "passing through" when we lived in the town for about 18 months in the mid 1970s (my father had been transferred there to work at the local Rural Bank.) More recently, in September 2004, I spent a night in the town on the way to the more touristed Carnavon Gorge in Queensland. Nonetheless, Moree is strategically located, and thus makes an excellent stopover point. What better way to recuperate after a long day's drive across the hard empty plains, than a spell in the Moree Baths? After a bath you could experience the real Outback at one of the town's pubs, drink a beer or two, and reflect on the region's Aboriginal and European heritage.

As the NRMA recommend on their site, don't stay in the water longer than five minutes at a time. You can alternate between one of the two hot pools (38・ｽC and 41・ｽC respectively) and the 27・ｽC outdoor 50 metre pool to get that added zing in your step. Top the visit off with a 10 or 30-minute massage.

As was so often the case, Clarke's Aboriginal knowledge was used to perpetuate European domination of Australia, and to condemn the Kamilaroi way of life to extinction. Since that time, race relations have been tense, to say the least. For example, in the 1960s Moree was the site of fierce confrontations between Aboriginal rights activists and local whites. The focus of the confrontation was Moree's celebrated Artesian Bore, still the most popular attraction in the region. Inspired by the civil rights movement of the United States, busloads of students called the Freedom Riders headed to Moree to protest racial segregation at the Artesian Spa. The Riders were met at the Spa by angry locals and were punched, pushed and spat upon, in dramatic scenes were seen nationally on television. Since that time swimming pools in Moree have been desegregated, and recent iniatives are showing success in helping local Aborigines find employment.

According to the Moree Aboriginal Employment Strategy, "Moree has a history of racial tension and although in the mid 1960s one of the wealthiest towns in the north west of NSW, by the mid 1990s there was little growth, the town had a high incidence of crime and a negative image throughout the rest of Australia. The idea behind the AES was to try to sort out the problems that Moree was experiencing by finding jobs for Aboriginal people and to bring the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities closer together and to foster respect for each other.

"By the beginning of 1999 the AES had found jobs for 44 Aboriginal people in full-time employment. By June 1999, the AES which had from the start been staffed and operated by Aboriginal people, had four employees."

Kamilaroi culture is very strong in Moree. If you enjoy the contemporary Aboriginal art at the Moree Plains Gallery, head for the Yurundiali Aboriginal Co-op, which specialises in screen prints. You can also buy clothing and paintings.

A spectacular mountainous walk through riverbeds will lead you to the magnificent Waa Gorge where swimming is possible in The Devils Waterholes (but don't try and touch the bottom!) These are a series of tiered pools formed as the river flows down the mountain. If you reach the top of Mt Kaputar and the conditions allow you will have a view of over 10% of NSW. The peak is over 1500 m above sea level.