[4] The name is derived from the anglicisation of the Wiradjuri (local Aboriginal language) word "narriyar", meaning "hot".

A wowser is an Australian word describing a "mealy-mouthed hypocrite, a pious prude, one who condemns or seeks to curtail the pleasures of others or who works to have their own rigid morality enforced on all who prefers not to consume alcohol".

A bowser refers to the everyday machine used to pump petrol or diesel into a vehicle, of which many antique examples can be seen on the main street.

[6] The village was gazetted the year after this connection and flourished at the expense of the nearby settlement of Broken Dam.

New South Wales Government Railways launched its first bulk-wheat loading operation in the town in 1916.