Menindee is a small town on the banks of the Darling River in New South Wales, Australia. It is 1,271 km west of the state capital, Sydney. There are about 980 people who live in Menindee. The explorer Major Thomas Mitchell was the first Europen to visit the area in 1835. He named the lakes in the area Laidley Ponds. A hotel was built by Tom Paine in 1853, which became an important supply base for the Burke and Wills expedition in 1860.