Explore Backwater, New South Wales, Australia, with this interactive street and satellite map. You can “grab” the Backwater, NSW map and move it around to re-centre it. You can change between standard map view and satellite map view by clicking the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. You can use the zoom buttons on the lower right side of the map to zoom in or out to street-level detail.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets — plus a labelled MGA grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below. You will find live weather, local and world news further down the page.
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Backwater, New South Wales, Australia. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen for a larger view. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key on your keyboard, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
Drag the map to pan to any area of New South Wales or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Backwater and surrounding areas, including streets, buildings, parks and waterways.
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the Geoscience Australia National Base Map — seamless topographic mapping covering the mainland, Tasmania and the external territories. NATMAP 250K shows the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 map sheets, mosaicked nationwide — the printed sheets generations of Australians navigated the outback with. The search box finds any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Backwater.
Reading the map like a paper sheet. Click Grid to overlay the Map Grid of Australia (MGA), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as an MGA grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what emergency services and search and rescue work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need mobile coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load, which across much of inland Australia is most of the time.
Map search is available for a limited number of queries per session to manage costs. Be specific — search precisely for best results.
| Locality | Backwater |
| State | New South Wales (NSW) |
| Local Government Area | Armidale Regional Council |
| Country | Australia |
| Timezone | Australian Eastern Time (AEST/AEDT) |
| Remoteness | Outer Regional Australia |
| Latitude | -30.05251 |
| Longitude | 151.90875 |
| Population | 14 |
| Density | 0.1 /km² |
| Area | 126.1 km² |
| Elevation | 1189 m |
| Postcode | 2365 |
| Area Code | 02 |
| Distance to Sydney | 429 km north |
Backwater is a locality in the Armidale Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is a small community with a population of 14. The locality covers an area of 126.1 km², giving a population density of about 0.1 people per km². It sits at an elevation of around 1189 m above sea level. It lies approximately 429 km north of Sydney. Backwater is located at 30.0525°S, 151.9087°E. It observes Australian Eastern Time (AEST/AEDT). Postcode: 2365. The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies the area as Outer Regional Australia.
Backwater unfolds across a landscape of rolling hills, where the rich, red earth rises to meet a sky that often burns with an intense, clear blue. It lies 54.8 km north-north-east of Armidale, NSW (from Armidale, NSW: bearing 25°T), and is situated 42.0 km south-south-east of Glen Innes. The air here carries the scent of dry grasses and the faint, sweet perfume of wattles, particularly as the day begins to soften towards dusk, painting the western horizon in hues of apricot and rose. Here and there, stands of sturdy eucalypts, their bark peeling like ancient parchment, offer pockets of deep, cool shade, their leaves whispering secrets to the ever-present breeze. The terrain is not dramatic, but possesses a quiet, enduring beauty, a gentle undulation that speaks of patient growth and the slow, steady work of water and wind.
The story of Backwater is one etched into the land by generations of farming and grazing families, their livelihoods tied to the capricious, yet ultimately generous, seasons. Sheep and cattle have long been the lifeblood of this district, their wool and meat finding their way to markets far beyond these horizons. The economy, while rooted in agriculture, has seen diversification over the years, with a growing appreciation for the region’s potential for boutique tourism, drawing visitors who seek the genuine quietude and the unfettered expanse of rural Australia. Evidence of older ways persists, in the sturdy, weathered farmhouses and the enduring spirit of community that binds the people of Backwater together, a resilience forged in the often-harsh, always-beautiful Australian bush.
Sources: curated tourist landmarks, CAPAD 2024 (Australian protected areas), OpenStreetMap.
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This page provides a street and satellite map of Backwater, New South Wales. Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorially written description provides background on Backwater, in the Armidale Regional Council local government area.
Detailed location data for Backwater includes the postcode (2365), telephone area code (02), and local government area (Armidale Regional Council), with an ABS remoteness classification of Outer Regional Australia. These are among the most commonly searched location details for any Australian city, town or locality.
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name; offers Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets as base layers; overlays a labelled Map Grid of Australia (MGA) so the map can be read like a printed topographic sheet; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as an MGA grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020) and enriched with GeoNames and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, matched by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Backwater is identified even where the name is shared across multiple localities.
| Page generated | October 2026 |
| Location data | Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020); enriched with GeoNames and ABS 2021 Census data, matched by coordinate proximity |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; © Geoscience Australia National Base Map and NATMAP 1:250 000 (CC BY 4.0); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Description | Editorial description generated with AI assistance from verified Geoscape, ABS and GeoNames location data. |