Moree is shaped by agriculture, especially by the cultivation of cotton that began in the 1960s . The city is also known for its artesian springs and as one of the main locations for the freedom-ride protests against racial segregation in the 1960s.
Originally, Aborigines from the Kamilaroi tribe lived in this area . One of the first Europeans in the area was the explorer Thomas Mitchell, who came to the area on the orders of the governor in 1832 to look for a large river called the Kindur , which the escaped prisoner George Clarke had described. Clarke lived with the Kamilaroi south of Moree from 1826 to 1831. In the course of Mitchell, cattle breeders followed for years to farm in this area, including in 1844 according to Moree, a term used by the Kamilaroi, which means either a long watering hole or the rising sun .
In 1851, James and Mary Brand followed, who opened the first general store on the banks of the Mehi River in 1852. The first post office was opened a year later. In 1862, Moree was named a town. Five years later, 43 people lived here, in 1881 295.
Moree became known in 1965 as one of the locations of the Freedom Ride , a trip through northern New South Wales led by Charles Perkins , the purpose of which was to draw the media's attention to discrimination against Aboriginal people. In Moree, for example, the indigenous population was forbidden to visit the public swimming pool, theaters and restaurants. The racial segregation that is common in rural Australia was also brought to the attention of the Australian urban population.
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