By the 1850s, with stock moving on both sides of the Barwon River, the ford at Mungindi just upstream from the present bridge became the principal crossing. Reliable waterholes and shaded flats on the riverbanks provided early drovers with a pleasant camp in the area, which the Gamilaroi Aboriginal People had held since antiquity as an important meeting place. Regular use of the track is indicated by the fact that two, stock routes were proclaimed by 1868, both to Mungindi, one from St George and one from Whyenbah via Dareel.