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Tamworth, New South Wales

Encyclopedia : T : TA : TAM : Tamworth, New South Wales

Tamworth is the largest town in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the major regional centre for southern New England and the government seat of the Tamworth Regional Council Local Government Area. Tamworth is nationally famous as the "Country Music Capital" of Australia, and is home to the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Contents

Geography

Tamworth is located on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, on the banks of the Peel River, about 420 km north of Sydney on the New England Highway, and 280 km inland from Port Macquarie on the Oxley Highway. The town is situated at a narrow point on the Peel River floodplain, nestled at the base of the Wentworth Mounds, a spur of the Moonbi Range, where the Northwest Slopes rise to the Northern Tablelands. The elevation is around 400 m. The Peel River runs southeast to northwest through Tamworth. The main town centre is on the northeast bank, between the river and the Wentworth Mounds which rise to heights of 800 m, towering over the city. The southwest bank is much flatter, and the city's suburbs sprawl to the south. Tamworth is located at the geographic coordinates [31°05′S 150°55′E]) and occupies an area of 486.5km² as of 2003. Surrounding towns include Gunnedah, Willowtree, Uralla, and Nundle.

Weather

The mean daily maximum temperature is 24.4 °C and the mean annual rainfall is 673.2 mm. [link] The climate is generally warm to hot in summer and cool to mild in winter. Rainfall is experienced all year round, with summer storms providing occasional heavy downpours. Tamworth's rain season, in the early months of a new year (particularly January) can result in major flooding. Snow can occur in and around the Nundle region, occasionally during a winter cold snap. Occasional frosts are also experienced in winter.

History

The Kamilaroi people, from whose language comes the word "budgerigar", inhabited the area before European contact. John Oxley passed through the Peel Valley in 1818. In 1831, the first sheep and cattle stations were formed, and in the same year the Australian Agricultural Company (AAC) was granted a lease of 127,000 ha of land at Goonoo Goonoo, south of the present location of Tamworth, extending to present-day Calala. [link]

In the 1830s a company town began to develop on the Peel's southwest bank, the present site of West Tamworth. In 1850 A public town was gazetted on the opposite side of the river from the existing settlement. This town became the main town, called Tamworth after Tamworth, Staffordshire, represented at the time in parliament by Robert Peel. The town prospered, and was reached by the railway in 1878. [link]

In 1888 Tamworth was the first town or city anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere to have municipally-operated electric street lighting, earning itself the title of "The City of Light".

Timeline

Demographics

The estimated population of Tamworth City in June 2003 was 37,120. The City has now amalgamated with its neighbours, and the new Tamworth Regional Council had an estimated resident population of 54,522 in 2005 [ABS]. For statistical purposes, Tamworth is grouped with the part of Parry Shire containing the satellite town of Kootingal. The estimated total population of this combined Tamworth Statistical District at 2005 was 43,261 [ABS].

Economy

Tamworth is primarily a service centre for the New England and North West regions, but its economy is diverse, supporting a number of industries, including primary and secondary food production, education, transport and aviation. The latter has been a significant part of the local economy, partly due to the city's exceptionally suitable flying weather, with the former East West Airlines and Eastern Airlines having service and maintenance bases at the Tamworth Airport. More recently the area has become an important centre for flying training activities for both airline and defence force graduates. The BAE Systems Flight Training College provides basic training for the Royal Australian Air Force and the Singapore Air Force. The Australasian Pacific Aeronautical College and New England Institute of TAFE in the city also provide aeronautical training.

Tourism is an important industry, worth over A$110 m annually [link], with by far the most significant draw being the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival, the biggest event of its type in Australia. During the week-long festival the town's population is said to more than double with revellers, who quickly fill up all the city's accommodations and spill over into tents set up on the flood plains.

Transport

Tamworth is situated on the old Main North railway line. Trains no longer continue all the way to the Queensland border, but the town is still served by the Countrylink Xplorer service between Sydney and Armidale.

Countrylink North Western
Werris Creek ↔ Tamworth ↔ Kootingal

Media

Tamworth serves as the regional centre for media in the New England District. The Northern Daily Leader is a long-running daily local paper with significant local and regional coverage. The Tamworth Times is a free weekly. Both are owned by the Rural Press. Prime Television has a studio in Tamworth that produces local news bulletins. Several radio stations are based in the city, including the country music-heavy 2TM, community station 2YOU-FM and the local ABC Local Radio station, ABC New England North West.

Sports

The local region has several strong sports competitions, including Football (soccer) Hockey, Rugby League, Rugby Union, AFL, Basketball and Cricket. Several national athletes can trace their sporting roots to the region such as Troy Hearfield, Michael York and Matthew Smith. The region has a number of excellent sporting facilities.Tamworth is famous for its two media celebrites Lachlan Browne and Matthew Holding, who hold several appearances on national television to their credit.

Country Music Festival

Tamworth is best known for hosting the Country Music Festival. Held over 10 days during January, the festival is often counted among the world's top ten music festivals. While the festival is based in Tamworth, events are also held in a number of areas outside (but within a short distance) of Tamworth, including Manilla, Moonbi and Kootingal

The festival culminates in the awarding of Golden Guitars - one of the highest awards that Australian Country Music artists can win for their music. In honor of its country music Tamworth is home to the World's Largest Guitar.

Suburbs

Schools

Sister cities

Tamworth has the following sister cities:

See also

References

External links


 Cities of New South Wales
Capital:

 Sydney
Cities:

Albury | Armidale | Bathurst | Blue Mountains | Broken Hill | Cessnock | Coffs Harbour | Dubbo | Gosford | Goulburn | Grafton | Griffith | Greater Taree | Hawkesbury | Lake Macquarie | Lismore | Lithgow | Maitland | Newcastle | Orange | Queanbeyan | Shellharbour | Shoalhaven | Tamworth | Wagga Wagga | Wollongong

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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