It lies at the confluence of Australia's two most important rivers, the Darling and the Murray, the latter forming the border with the state of Victoria to the south.

Named after the famous explorer and politician William Charles Wentworth in 1859,[2] the town is 34 kilometres (21 mi) to the west (via the Calder Highway) of the Victorian regional city of Mildura.

The town is nowadays served by NSW TrainLink coach services, connecting it to Broken Hill, from which trains operate to Sydney, and Mildura.

Local farmers, supplemented by the army and navy, worked for months to build levee banks to hold the water out of the town.

[12] Wentworth was a popular destination for 'pokie tour' bus rides from Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, prior to the legalisation of poker (gambling) machines in that state.