Manildra is a small town located halfway between Orange

Orange, New South Wales

Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....

 and Parkes

Parkes, New South Wales

- Transport :Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The Indian Pacific also stops twice a week, as well as the Broken Hill Outback Xplorer service, run by CountryLink, which heads to Broken Hill on Mondays and Sydney on...

 in Cabonne Shire

Cabonne Shire, New South Wales

The Cabonne Shire is a Local Government Area in the Central West of New South Wales. It is on the Mitchell Highway and the Broken Hill railway line.The council seat resides within one of the two largest villages in the Shire, Molong...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. At the 2006 census

Census in Australia

The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Manildra had a population of 503.

Industries

Located on the banks of Mandagery Creek in the heart of a farming community, it is the home of the Manildra Flour Mill (largest in the Southern Hemisphere) which commenced in 1952 and has since expanded into the largest industrial wheat producer in Australia. The Manildra Flour Mill is owned by The Manildra Group, who export to the world. The Manildra Hotel (1912) is one of 2 pubs in the town.

History

Historically, it is the home of the oldest running cinema in Australia which was originally a travelling attraction (since 1923) that found a home and has been offering entertainment ever since. This cinema is called the Amusu Theatre, and movies are screened every fortnight.

The name Manildra is an aboriginal word meaning 'winding river'. It is said the town was called this because of Mandagery Creek, which winds around Manildra's east side.