In one corner of a general store near the dried-up Menindee Lakes in central-west NSW, a display of fishing rods and tackle is buried beneath strata of dust. It’s been some time since fisherfolk have ventured into the area.

At the Old Wharf Cafe, which now sits on a bank of sun-bleached dirt at Pooncarie (population 166, according to the 2016 census), the egg and bacon rolls are “the best this side of the Murray”.