Tamworth

Situated on the Peel River, Tamworth is an important commercial centre, servicing a large part of the population of northern New South Wales. It is approximately midway between Sydney and Brisbane and is also linked to southern and south-western markets by the Newell Highway.

• Transport
• Education
• Industries
• Hospital
• Shopping
• Music
• Community events
• Sport
• Tourism
• History

Transport

Along with Tamworth's regional airport, the city is a set-down point for the Sydney-Brisbane daily bus services. A daily return train service is also available. Also, the air-conditioned XPT rail service operates between Sydney and Tamworth, which interconnects with Countrylink's air-conditioned coaches fanning out over a large area of north-western New South Wales. These daily coach services, including Pioneer Express, McCafferty's, Border Coaches and Greyhound, are provided to and from Sydney and other parts of the state too.

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Education

The University of New England located at Armidale, 1 ½ hours drive from Tamworth, has four faculties:

• Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• Economics Business and Law
• Education, Health and Professional
• Sciences

The university recently opened a major sub-campus in Tamworth's CBD.

The New England Institute of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) has 5,300 students on campus and nine training divisions. It is one of the largest TAFE colleges in regional NSW.

Schooling includes:

• Secondary schools: 8 public, 5 private
• Primary schools: 13 public, 3 private
• Pre-schools: 15

Also located at Tamworth is the Regional Conservatorium of Music. Affiliated with the University of New England, the conservatorium provides courses in voice, musicianship and early childhood music classes. The School of Dance offers courses in classical ballet and modern dance.

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Industries

Tamworth boasts one of the largest industrial concentrations in regional NSW and hosts a wide range of industrial warehousing, wholesaling and back-up services along with the necessary skills to service most enterprises. The Taminda industrial area is ideally situated between the Tamworth Airport, New England Mail Sorting Centre and Tamworth Railway Station with three major post offices located nearby. More than 200 manufacturers and allied support services are based in Tamworth.

Major industries include:

• Aerospace - Tamworth is home to one of the largest and most modern flight training centres in the world: The Australian Air Academy
• Food processing - Baiada Poultry, Cargill Australia, Peel Valley Exporters, Goodman Fielder, Woolworths, John White Maltings
• Agriculture - Despite the diversification from broad scale agriculture, the backbone of sector in the region is still cattle, sheep, grains, cotton, lucerne and poultry. Recently, Tamworth has seen an explosion of boutique agricultural and horticultural ventures in olives, vines, nuts, specialised game fowl and hydroponics
• Construction and engineering
• Tourism - One of Tamworth's most thriving industries in recent years. Revenue reaching $73,000,00pa

Tamworth has always had a vibrant business, commercial and social community and this trend is continuing, fuelled by high commodity prices and the city's ability to attract business. The district has diversified from its agricultural base and now has a mixed economy.

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Hospital

The New England Area Health Service is headquartered in Tamworth and offers a multi discipline range of health services providing comprehensive and integrated services such as community health, mental health and population health services.

Both the Tamworth Base hospital (275 beds) and Tamara Private Hospital (59 beds) are located less than five kilometres from the CBD.

Features of Tamworth's Hospital include - 24 hour Emergency Department, high level Surgical and Medical services, including a Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterisation laboratory, Burns Unit, Rehabilitation services (including Brain Injury), a Diabetes Centre, Banksia Mental Health Unit, Renal services, Oncology, Radiology and Pathology.

Outpatient clinics link the New England with specialist tertiary hospitals in Newcastle and Sydney.

Tamworth Community Health Centre is located in Johnson House adjacent to Tamworth Base Hospital, providing access to a range of community based health services. These include:

• Child and Family Health services, including Aboriginal Mother and Babies Service, a Child Development Service and a Family Care Cottage.
• Therapy and support services, including Genetic Counselling, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Social Workers and Speech Pathology.
• Community Nursing, Continence Advisor, Diabetic Services, Hearing Services, Aged Care Assessment Team, Alcohol & Other Drugs Service, Palliative Care, Podiatry, Respiratory Services, Sexual Health, Women's Health, Primary Health staff for surrounding communities.

There are also a large number of fully accredited childcare facilities in Tamworth. These include playgroups, childcare centres, educational centres, pre schools, and long day care centres.

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Shopping

The retail industry is one of Tamworth's larger employers, and the range of products and services available compares extremely well with major cities.

Tamworth's CBD has a number of national chains and franchises stand side by side with smaller retailers and alfresco restaurants and cafes.

Tamworth has one of the largest, modern shopping centres in regional New South Wales - Shoppingworld.

Tamworth offers a lot of locally manufactured and marketed country products, reflecting a rural lifestyle. You can even buy goods direct from local factories, as well as fresh produce supplied by local growers from market gardeners and hydroponic farms to specialty foods based on fish, berries, wine, olives…

Shopping in Tamworth isn't just limited to food and clothing.

Tamworth is a major provider of a wide range of products and services.

The City is a major supplier of passenger and commercial vehicles for the region. Tamworth actually builds special vehicles for use in industrial, commercial and personal applications in Tamworth.

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Music

Tamworth Regional Conservatorium of Music (TRCM) is a member of The Association of Regional Conservatorium Music Centres of NSW, a network of 14 Conservatoriums based throughout NSW. Established in 1986, TRCM is a community based, non-tertiary institution, funded jointly by the NSW Government and the local community. It is the only Regional Conservatorium to be financially supported by a Foundation.

The Conservatorium offers professional tuition in a broad range of musical instruments, dance and voice as well as early childhood music classes. Many of the 22 members of staff have national and international qualifications. There are many opportunities for adults to participate in a wide variety of musical ensembles. These include Salon Orchestra (an 18-piece ensemble for strings, woodwinds and piano); Sinfonia (a 15-piece ensemble for strings only); Concert Band (a 40-piece ensemble), which contributes to many community events; Adult Winds (a small ensemble for beginners); Salon Wind Orchestra (an octet comprising adults and advanced students).

The School of Dance offers courses in classical ballet and modern dance. An active Arts Council presents Musica Viva concerts and professional drama to Tamworth audiences.

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Community Events

• The Country Music Festival
• An Equine Centre is presently being established to cater for the various Associations and their events, for example Appaloosa, All breeds, Western Performance, Stock Horse, Pony Clubs and Cutting Horse
• The Tamworth Jockey Club hosts a three-day program of races each year. Tamworth hosts an annual Agricultural Show, Rodeo, Camp-draft day and Cutting Horse program, amongst others
• Tamworth Eisteddfod is held annually beginning in May
• The Musical Society hosts different live theatre performances throughout the year
• Local schools are given the opportunity to compete in a Dance Festival each year, which is either held in Tamworth or Armidale, as well as, the state's dance Rock Eisteddfod - with the theme 'Don't Take Drugs'
• Tamworth's excellent Regional Sporting Complex allows for many local to international sporting events to be held throughout the year including the Australian baseball championships
• Other sporting events held are NSW Hang Gliding Championships and assorted Rugby League carnivals

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Arts & Culture

The Tamworth City Gallery holds a diverse program of fine art exhibitions throughout each year. The gallery was established in 1919 and provides cultural and educational resource for the town. The gallery presents public activities including tour shows from other major public galleries, group exhibitions of contemporary visual art forms across a range of media as well as artist's talks, special events and workshops. Tamworth is home to a nationally recognised Fibre Collection and the gallery conducts a biannual fibre exhibition that tours extensively throughout Australia.

The Gallery is complemented by regular exhibitions at the Tamworth's TAFE College and Weswal Gallery, a commercial exhibition space showcasing regional Australian art. Tamworth also has a variety of dance groups for community members and visitors alike, which cater for a wide range of dancing including line dancing and old time dancing.

There are numerous other interest groups including:

• Mara-Mara Community Inc.
• Dulegal Arboretum Association
• National Parks Association
• Tamworth Heritage committee
• Peel Country Quilters
• New England Film & Sound Archive
• Tamworth Eisteddfod Society
• Foundation for Musical Education
• Regional Craft Centre
• Choral Society
• Tamworth Musical Society
• Hand-spinners and Weavers Guild
• Lapidary Club
• Dramatic Society

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Sport & Recreation

Tamworth has many excellent sporting facilities and pride themselves as a great sporting region. The Tamworth Regional Sporting Complex allows athletes to compete in a lot of events in the one area. It has two Olympic standard synthetic turf hockey fields, fitted with lighting for night games and a brand new gymnasium centre that will cater for all competitors from local to international events. There is also an indoor sports centre in Tamworth, which provides almost every indoor sport imaginable, as well as two 18-hole golf courses.

Sporting opportunities in Tamworth include archery, swimming, Tai chi, soccer, bowling, ten pin bowling, cricket (both indoor and outdoor), horse riding, walking, aquatic sports, yoga, cycling, gun club, pistol club, tennis, equine sports, darts, hockey, motor sports, gymnastics, basketball, kart racing, model aircraft, motor cycle sports, netball (both indoor and outdoor), physical culture, rifle club, polocrosse, football (all types), softball, fun runs, pigeon racing, kick boxing, dance and karate.

Tamworth has a very active Police Citizens Youth Club, with a skateboarding ramp across the road.

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Tourism

Recreational areas or sites of interest to visit and spend time at are:

• Arc-en-ciel Trout Farm
• Sheba Dams
• Nundle, old gold mining town on head waters of Peel River
• Fossicking for minerals (gold, scheelite, copper and manganese)
• Lapidary areas - zircons, sapphires, green jasper, serpentine and crystal
• Lake Keepit State Park - providing great camping, family, water sports, mini-golf facilities
• National Parks within an hour's drive including the Warrumbungles at Coonabarabran, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and the Werrikimbee National Park at Walcha
• Numerous farm stay accommodation in the area around Tamworth - which offer unique farming holidays working on sheep and cattle properties
• Warrina Wines (Back Kootingal Road)
• Oxley Marsupial Park - a picturesque sanctuary for kangaroos, wildlife and those who enjoy the outdoors
• Oxley Scenic Lookout and Kamilaroi Walking Track
• Calala Cottage - built in 1875, now restored to show the way people lived, worked and learned in the 19th century
• Goddard's Agricultural Museum and Butterfly World - great family day out with hundreds of antique farm machines, household appliances, motor cars, horse drawn vehicles on display and an array of colourful butterflies
• Golden Guitar and Gallery of Stars Wax Museum
• Tamworth Regional Botanic Gardens
• Power station Museum - tells a story of the City's role in the development of electric street lighting

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Tamworth - A Brief History

"...it would be impossible to find a finer or more luxuriant country... no place in the world can afford more advantages to the industrious settler..."
John Oxley 1818

So impressed by the countryside as he passed through the Peel Valley on his way to Port Macquarie, it is not surprising that explorer John Oxley's glowing report soon led to squatters moving their herds of cattle to graze on the lush pastures.

Prior to white settlement, the area was occupied by the Kamilaroi people who knew it as 'Calala', thought to mean 'place of battle'. Squatters began to arrive in 1830.

The early history of Tamworth is closely interwoven with that of The Australian Agricultural Company, and it is impossible to study one without being involved with the other.

The Australian Agricultural Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in November 1824, and by October 1826 had occupied a large tract of land near Port Stephens. The coastal land was unsuitable for wool growing and in March 1832, Sir Edward Parry travelled to the Peel River to inspect land recommended by Henry Dangar.

Finding it extremely suitable, the first 6000 sheep were moved to the Peel Estate in 1834. It was allocated in two separate parcels, the larger being Goonoo Goonoo, on the southern bank of the Peel River, which became the company headquarters in 1841.

Tamworth was established as a company station and camp on the Goonoo Goonoo grant. A private village began to develop on the western bank of the Peel River in the late 1830s with a few huts and stores on the eastern bank to cater for teamsters who crossed the river at that point. The Goonoo Goonoo residence was the first homestead to be built in Tamworth in 1846.

A survey for a townsite was carried out in 1849 and Tamworth was gazetted in 1850 with a population of 254 recorded the following year when the first school was set up. The town name comes from a town in Staffordshire, England, represented in the British parliament by Robert Peel.

Before 1850, a slab and bark dwelling was erected for one of the shepherds and this is the Slab Hut in the grounds of Calala Lane - 3kms south of Tamworth. A supply cart from the Head Station brought supplies of meat, flour, sugar and tobacco. This hut was built with the aid of an adze and an axe. Original shingles are on the roof under the bark.

This was the first homestead to be built in Tamworth and the present Goonoo Goonoo homestead was built in 1846.

Tamworth became a major coaching station and milling centre in the 1860s. The population increased from about 650 in 1866 to about 3000 in 1876 when it was declared a municipality. In 1878, the railway from Newcastle was extended to West Tamworth.

In 1888, Tamworth became the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to have a municipally operated electric street lighting, earning it the nickname 'The City of Light'.

In the 1920s, Tamworth became the centre of the New England New State Movement, which wanted to create a separate state. It resurfaced in the 1960s.

During World War II, the showgrounds were used as an army-training camp and an RAAF flying school was set up at the aerodrome that had opened in 1932.

Tamworth was declared a city in 1946.

The association of the city with country music started in the late 1960s. Local radio station 2TM discovered the scale of the potential country music audience when it began broadcasting its programme 'Hoedown'. Tamworth capitalised on the success by establishing the Country Music Awards in 1973.

2TM built a flourishing festival around the Awards during the seventies, with new events like the Roll of Renown, the Rodeo, Star Maker, the Bluegrass Championships and Hands of Fame attracting visitors from all over the nation.

The people of Tamworth today enjoy an excellent array of restaurants and licensed clubs, a thriving arts and crafts centre, extensive sporting facilities, cinema, live theatre and pub entertainment.

Tamworth is the Country Music Capital of Australia and each year some 50,000 tourists travel each year in January to its internationally acclaimed, ten day Country Music Festival.

The district also has a strong equine events industry and a healthy entertainment industry, including local and visiting live acts on the hotel and club circuit, Musica Viva and other cultural events. The Tamworth Regional conservatorium of Music produces concerts and light opera on a regular basis.

The Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre opened in 1998. The 5000-seater venue has hosted acts such as Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and the National Golden Guitar Country Music Association Awards.

The Society obtained tenure of the complex in August 1971, and restored the Slab Hut and then the main house to what they are today. The Calala complex is playing an important role in the education of students of all ages around the North and North-West, as well as providing research material for historians and the general public. It provides a central repository for documents and articles pertaining to the history of the Peel Valley.

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