Narrandera is a river town with a long history. Captain Charles Sturt, the famous explorer, was the first European to see the area that later became known as Narrandera. However Sturt, who passed through on 12 December 1829, was not the first explorer to see the Murrumbidgee River. The upper Murrumbidgee, the "Big Water", was first discovered in April 1821, by Charles Throsby. The name "Narrandera" probably comes from Wiradjuri word "nharrang", meaning "frill-necked lizard".