Hundreds of people have rallied at towns along the Darling River in far west New South Wales, calling for a Commonwealth royal commission into the management of the Murray-Darling Basin.

The NSW Aboriginal Land Council organised events in Menindee, Wilcannia, Bourke, Dareton, Dubbo and Walgett, blocking bridges and marching.

The rallies came off the back of the mass fish kills in the Darling River at Menindee in recent months and as many of the towns come close to running out of water.

A preliminary report commissioned by the Federal Government found that exceptional climatic conditions contributed to the fish deaths, while a report requested by Labor found irrigators pumping too much water upstream, drought, and low flows into and from Menindee Lakes had contributed to the fish kills.

'We need our water back'

About 300 people turned out at Menindee, where the deaths of more than 2 million fish over summer gave the town a national profile.

Darlene Newman, who was raised in Wilcannia but has lived in Menindee for two decades, said the fish kills would have a devastating effect on Indigenous cultural practices.

"I raised my kids the same way I was raised from the elders in Wilcannia, and today it's so sad for our kids," Ms Newman said.

"[They] can't go to the river and learn what I was taught, and taught how to live on the river and the land.

"It affected me so much when I first went to see the river, and I seen [sic] all the fish dead.

"I cried. I stood on the top of the bank and I cried."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 43 seconds 43 s Mass killing of fish in Darling River, near Broken Hill

She said it was a cultural as well as an ecological disaster.

"We can get fined for having six fish in a fishing net. Are the Government going to get fined for killing all our food?"

People rallying marched down Menindee's main street to the bridge over the Darling River, where they held a minute's silence.

Christopher Lance King, a Barkindji man from Broken Hill, said he was pleased to see such a large turnout.

"[We need to] show the governments that we're all one community and we are proud to live on the river and we need our water back for fishing and swimming and for the wildlife and everything."

Wilcannia's main road was closed for half an hour by the march involving about 100 people. ( ABC Broken Hill: Aimee Volkofsky )

Calls to include Indigenous people in water management decisions

About 100 people blocked the bridge in Wilcannia for half an hour, marching, and stopping for a minute's silence for the river and elders who have passed.

It was the third such rally the town has held since 2016, expressing its passion for the river and frustration with the government's management of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Warlpa Thompson, who is on the Barkindji native title group, said Indigenous people were sick of being left out of conversations about water management.

"A few things have drawn a focus in western NSW for a long time, but it's just echoing what our community has been crying out for for a long time and that's a better management system," he said.

In Walgett, a symbolic funeral was held for the Darling River and a coffin was carried to the Barwon River's banks. ( Supplied: NSW Aboriginal Land Council )

"Because we're in that unregulated part of the system we kind of get overlooked and left out of decision-making processes, or we're included after the terms of reference about how to use water have already been set.

"Most of it is about money and greed, it's not about how do we look after the communities in our area or protect the interests of people and the environment as a priority, they're secondary to the moneymaking scheme that is water trading."

Wilcannia-based Barkinji artist Eddy Harriss said it was time the Government took Indigenous voices seriously when making decisions about water management.

"Our mob has been looking at the river for about 40,000 years, and I'm talking about all the other rivers as well," he said.

"We can work with non-Aboriginal people for a better river system.

"The system they've already got never worked for 100 years. Give us a chance to work with Government properly, a fair go."

Fish were killed en masse in the Darling River at Menindee earlier this year. ( Facebook: Debbie Newitt )

Nyngan Aboriginal Land Council CEO Veneta Duncan, who was at the Dubbo rally, said that while the town was not on the Darling River, she was pleased to see a small crowd gather in solidarity with Darling River communities.

"We are screaming and yelling and being loud and trying to be heard about it. We need the Government to focus on grassroots people like us," she said.

Ms Duncan, who lives on the Bogan River in Nyngan, said she was worried about the impact of the river's health on the next generation of Aboriginal children.

"It's not fair that families along the river have nothing. We need water for our cultural practices. We teach our kids all their skills on the river. If we don't have that then our culture is gone."