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Tamworth - Cities, Towns and Localities |
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Although best known for the country music festival,
Tamworth also host the richest riding horse event, the annual NCHA Futurity Show
and Sale, in fact there is always something happening
horse-wise in Tamworth such as trail riding to rodeo, trotters to
gallopers, harness to pony club, dressage to showjumping to tent
pegging. Being the centre of the commercial and administrative
region of New England, it serves as the retail and service centre to
the surrounding region whose agricultural produce includes wool,
dairy products, eggs, wheat, lucerne, tobacco, honey and livestock such as
cattle, horse, sheep and poultry. Check out the following listing of
attractions and events. |
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Anzac Park
Bound by Brisbane, Napier, Fitzroy and Upper Streets, this
parkland includes playground, electric BBQ, water and toilets. It
also features the Sandakin Memorial.
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Australian Country Music Foundation Museum
93 Brisbane St (near the Peel St intersection)
Ph: 02 6766 1577
Currently features Tex Morton,
Buddy Williams, Smoky Dawson and Slim Dusty in the Legends of
Australian Country Music exhibition. Special monthly events are held
on the third Sunday of the month, relating to the Country Music
Theatre the previous evening. The Winners Walkway is a landscaped
memorial in Treloars Arcade, dedicated to those who win the Golden
Guitar Award.
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Australian Country
Music Foundation (ACMF)
Formed to establish a permanent Country Music
Archive and Resource Centre in Tamworth.
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Bicentennial Park
Kable Ave, TAMWORTH NSW 2340
Established in 1988 to
commemorate the Bicentenary.
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Calala Cottage
142 Denison St, TAMWORTH NSW 2340 Ph: 02 6765 7492 (Caretaker)
This historic cottage was constructed in 1875 as the townhouse for
the Hon. Phillip Gidley King, MLC, first Mayor of Tamworth and at
the time Superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company. With
over 2,000 significant items on show, plus an original slab
shepherds hut, a beehive school and blacksmiths workshop, all within
a garden setting.
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Chaffey Dam
Nundle Road Ph: 02
6764 2204
Located at Bowling Alley Point, just 45 km southeast of
Tamworth. You can view the dam from the observation point and
lookout and see morning Glory spillway. Facilities include camping,
picnic areas, BBQs and toilets. Great for recreational power boats
and skiing.
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Country
Music
Tamworth
Country Music Festival
The official links for Tamworth Country
Music Festival. Includes dates, details and information about
next years festival. Also has info on accommodation and the latest
country music news.
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Goddards Agricultural Museum
Ph: 02 6760 0320
Is about 17 km south on
the New England Highway. The museum has a large display of antique
farming machinery, antique cars and other vehicles.
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Golden Guitar
New England Hwy, TAMWORTH NSW 2340
A 12 metre high Golden Guitar
that is a replica of the famous trophy presented each January to winners of the
CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia.
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Guitar Shaped Swimming Pool
New England Hwy
Located at Alandale Flag Inn.
The pool is constructed in the shape of a guitar and features the
Australian flag.
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Hands of Fame Park
Cnr of Bridge St and Kable Ave
Each January, selected
country music stars are asked to leave their handprints in concrete
for posterity. The park also has an aeroplane the Vampire, a
memorial to the RAAF. It is from here that the 4.7 km heritage walk
starts, a brochure is available from the information centre.
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Hawking Bros Memorial
Country Capital Motel Goonoo Goonoo Road
A
memorial to the Hawks for their contribution to the country music
industry.
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Heritage Walk, Hands of Fame Park
Cnr Bridge St & Kable Ave, TAMWORTH NSW
2340
The walk is about 4.7 km and can be comfortably completed in
1.5 hrs. Pick up a brochure from the Tamworth Visitor Information
Centre.
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Lake Keepit State Park
Keepit Dam Road Ph: 02 6769 7605 (Ranger) Ph: 02 6769
7693 (Lake Keepit Kiosk)
Ph: 02 6769 7514 (Keepit Soaring Centre -
bookings for joyrides)
Just 57 km from Tamworth on the Oxley
Highway towards Gunnedah. Popular for those into watersports
including swimming, fishing, sailing, windsurfing, water skiing and
speed boat racing. Facilities include caravan park, kiosk, BBQs,
childrens pool, half-court tennis, BMX track, skateboard, toilets
and a five-hole golf course.
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 Memorial to the Australian Light Horse
Waler Memorial, Bicentennial Park, Kable Ave, TAMWORTH NSW
This memorial commemorates the over half a million horses that were sent to India (for the Brits with the civil
uprising), for our troops in South Africa (Boer War) and to WW1 in the Middle
East. Just one horse, a gelding called Sandy came back home to Australia. Four large bronze plaques attached to the base telling the story of
the Australian Light Horse.
The Memorial was created by sculptor Tanya Bartlett of Newcastle and was
unveiled by Major General Digger James on October 29, 2005. This was the nearest
Saturday to Beersheba Charge Day (Oct 31, 1917).
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Memorial Plaque
Fitzroy Street (adjacent to Tamworth Town Hall)
The
plaque commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Australian Country
Music Awards.
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Monk Park
located in Myrene Avenue Calala, the parkland facilities include
sheltered seating, BBQs, playground equipment, cricket net, and
water.
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Moonbi and Moonbi Lookout
About 21 km north-east of Tamworth via the New
England Highway is Moonbi at the foot of the Moonbi Ranges. It is
the largest poultry producing area in the state outside of Sydney,
which explains the Big Chook on the left-hand side of the highway
in the park. A few km further north along the highway, at the top
of the first Moonbi Range, is Moonbi Lookout. A huge granite boulder
provides views over the valley below. There are BBQs, picnic and
toilet facilities.
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Munros Mill
Built in 1863, Munros Mill was the first flour mill in town.
Tamworth became an important milling centre with the wheat fields of
northern NSW transporting their produce here for processing. The
mill closed in 1901 and is now an antique shop.
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Noses of Fame
Joe Maguires Pub 148 Peel Street
See the noses of well
known country music stars imprinted in concrete.
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Nundle Woollen Mill
Oakenville Street, NUNDLE NSW 2340 NUNDLE Ph: 02 6769
3330
Visit the spinning mill and view vintage machinery from an
elevated walkway through the centre of the mill. Situated in
beautiful gardens, the Mill also has a retail section with some
great knitted garments and wool for sale.
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Oxley Marsupial Park
open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm daily, there are
kangaroos, emus, peacocks and other wildlife. BBQs, picnic and
toilet facilities are provided.
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Oxley Scenic Lookout and Kamilaroi Walking Track
610 m above sea-level, the
lookout offers great views of the city and the Peel River Valley. It
lies at the end of Scenic Drive which runs off the northern ends of
both White and Hill Streets. There are barbecue and picnic
facilities. The Kamilaroi Walking Track (6.2 km, about 3 hours)
starts here and follows the ridge tops to Endeavour Park.
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Parks
There are a number of parks around Tamworth to enjoy, offering a
variety of facilities. Parks include Lions Club Park, Oxley Park,
Prince of Wales Park, Viaduct Park and Zonta Park, as well as the
others mentioned elsewhere on this page.
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Ponderosa Park and Nundle State Forest Drive
Duncans Creek Rd Ph: 02
6769 3205 (Nundle Shire Office) Ph: 02 6777 2511 (Walcha Forestry)
Only 17 km from Nundle, the park features tall timbers and
established walking trails. Access to the park is from Woolomin via
Duncans Creek or through Nundle towards Hanging Rock. Great for
overnight camping. Facilities inlcude toilets and BBQs (with wood
provided).
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Powerhouse Museum
Ph: 02 6766 8324
Located in the general office of the
old power plant, the museum celebrates 100 years of electric street
lighting in Tamworth, which was the first town in the Southern
Hemisphere to acquire municipally-supplied electric street lighting.
There are some great items of electrical appliances and
paraphernalia from yesteryear on display, including working
steam-powered electricity generators.
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Rex Gilroys Butterfly World
Just 17 km south on the New England Highway,
features a collection of butterflies, moths, spiders, beetles and
other insects. There is also a large rock, mineral and fossil
display.
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Sheba Dams Reserve
Hanging Rock to Barry Station Road Ph: 02 6769 3205
Located in
picturesque country at Hanging Rock on the Great Divide and only 1
km from Nundle. This is a favourite destination for day tripping
and overnight camping. Activities include bushwalking, swimming,
fishing and late afternoon wildlife observation. Facilities include
toilets, BBQs (wood), picnic amenities, shelter shed and constructed
walking trails.
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Split Rock Dam
Oakhampton Road
Located about 25 km in a north-easterly direction from Manilla.
Drive through Manilla towards Barraba for 14 km, the turnoff (to the
right) is signposted. Facilities include toilets, BBQs, picnic areas
and boat ramps.
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St. Johns Anglican Church
102 Carthage St, TAMWORTH NSW 2340 Ph: 02
6761 8703
This restored 1880 church, also contains a restored pipe
organ. There are self-guided tours, as well as guided tours with
organ music.
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Tamworth Aircraft Museum
Tamworth Airport Ph: 02 6762 0605
Features
an Avro Anson VH-ASM Aircraft manufactured in 1940, historically the
first aircraft used by East West Airlines when it commenced in
Tamworth in 1946.
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Tamworth City Gallery
203 Marius St, TAMWORTH NSW 2340
Ph: 02 6755 4459 Fax:
02 6755 4261
Established in 1919 as an art salon, moving to its current
premised with the Tamworth City Library in 1961, the gallery has a
diverse program of outstanding exhibitions and public program
activities providing a major cultural and education resource for the
City of Tamworth.The gallery started off with a bequest of 100
paintings and works on paper from artist John Salvana. This was
added to in 1961 by the Burdekin Collection, a substantial gift of
Australian and European paintings and watercolours including works
by Will Ashton, Elioth Gruner, Hans Heysen, Norman Lindsay and
Sydney Long. In 1967, the Lyttleton Taylor family of Tamworth
donated the Regan Silverware Collection, containing some of the best
known examples of early Australian silverware.
In 1999, through a cultural collaboration between Utopia batik
artists and the Tamworth City Gallery, the gallery was a presented
with a significant body of archival artwork known as The Utopia
Collection Bequest. The bequest is made up of a core group of
indigenous textile artworks complemented by works on paper and
wooden carved ceremonial figures that were designated as important
archival pieces in the evolution of art production on the Utopia
Homelands.
Source: Tamworth City Gallery and
Tamworth City Council
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Tamworth Powerstation Museum
216 Peel Street Ph: 02 6766 8324
The
museum tells the story of the citys role in the development of
electric street lighting, from early days of oil lamps in 1876 and
gas lamps in 1882, through to the installation of the first electric
lights on November, 1888. There is also a collection of electrical
appliances of the past century.
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Tamworth Regional Botanic Gardens
Top end of Piper Street
The gardens
occupy part of Victoria park and part of Oxley Park and are adjacent
to Endeavour Drive Marsupial Park. Covering an area of 28 ha, the
Botanic Gardens conserve the flora of the region as well as
including flora and plant displays from around the world and other
regions of Australia.
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Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre
Greg Norman Drive
Located
south of the city, this venue seats 5,000 and is used for major
concerts, exhibitions, conferences and trade shows.
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Viaduct and Railway Bridge
If you follow the riverbank in a north-westerly
direction, you will come to the 48 m lattice girder railway bridge,
that was prefabricated in England and erected here in 1881-82. Once
a common type of bridge, it is one of only two such structures
remaining on the northern rail. Originally built of wood, the 815 m
viaduct was replaced by steel from 1917-1929.
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New South Wales Events |
ABCRA National Finals Rodeo
Australian Bushmen's Campdraft & Rodeo Association Ltd, 221 Peel St, TAMWORTH
NSW 2340
Ph: 02 6766 5863
January
Australia's premier rodeo event
that include bull riding, saddle bronc, bareback team roping, rope and tie steer
wrestling and a number of other events. Watch the competitors battle it out in
some actioned packed entertainment.
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Tamworth
Country Music Festival
Ph: 02 6766 1839
Held over 2 weeks in January
The premier event of its kind in Australia and the second biggest country music
festival in the world; where accommodation is often booked out up to 12 months
in advance; with many visitors camping in caravans and tents; and estimated
visitors numbers to be up to 100,000, you will find the cream of Australia
country music talent, and catch a glimpse of up and coming talent.
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The Tamworth Antique &
Collectables Fair
Ph: 02 6766 3058
August
With dealers from around
Australia attending, the fair offers a chance to view and purchase a huge range
of collectables from Australian and Colonial furniture, silver ware, fine china,
crystal and glassware, kitchenalia, tools, dolls, toys, bears and much more.
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