44-810: Murwillumbah ( / m ər ˈ w ɪ l ə m b ɑː / mər- WIL -əm-bah ) is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales , Australia, in the Tweed Shire , on the Tweed River . Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-east of Sydney , 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane . The town's name
88-949: A humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa) with hot, wet summers and mild, relatively dry winters. Primary schools Secondary schools Murwillumbah has numerous sports clubs including Murwillumbah Colts , and Murwillumbah Mustangs , Murwillumbah SC , The Gentlemen of Murwillumbah Rugby Club. Other sports facilities in the area include Murwillumbah Vulcans Australian Football Club, Murwillumbah Brothers Fishing Club, Murwillumbah Swimming Club, Murwillumbah Cycle Club, Murwillumbah Combat Club, Murwillumbah Cricket Club, Murwillumbah Rowing Club, Murwillumbah Hockey Club, Murwillumbah Netball Association, Murwillumbah Bowling Club, Murwillumbah Pistol Club, Murwillumbah Rifle Club, Murwillumbah Croquet Club, Tweed River Jockey Club, Tweed Valley Equestrian Group, Tweed River water Ski Club, Tweed Valley Triathletes-Triathlon Club, Murwillumbah Golf Club and Murwillumbah Tennis Club. Tweed Shire Regional Botanic Gardens
132-479: A number of heritage-listed sites, including: The Pacific Highway passed through South Murwillumbah, but the town was completely bypassed when the 27 kilometre dual carriageway Yelgun to Chinderah upgrade was opened in August 2002. The pre-existing highway, now significantly quieter, was renamed The Tweed Valley Way, and is the main means of access to Murwillumbah from both north and south. A road leading north west,
176-684: A recreation of areas of Olley's famous home studio, principally the Hat Factory and the Yellow Room. The region has a history of Italian settlement. The locality of New Italy was settled in 1882 by Italian pioneers who attempted to cultivate the area's difficult interior, while additional phases of migration followed in the 1920s and again with the post- World War II influx of European migrants anxious to escape their war-ravaged country. They typically leased hilly land from local farmers on which they cultivated bananas, moving to other trades when
220-579: A reputation as both a centre for relaxation and "alternative" health practices such as yoga , and at certain times of the year, a convenient out-of-town recreation area for partygoers from the major urban centres of south-east Queensland. The village of Nimbin , in the Lismore area, also attracts tourists interested in its reputation for environmental and alternative living initiatives such as permaculture , sustainability, and self-sufficiency, as well as its often-cited counterculture which includes lobbying for
264-601: A scenic tourist drive, heads along the Numinbah Valley through the towns of Chillingham , Numinbah and Natural Bridge . A road south west of the town heads to Kyogle via the town of Uki , passing near to Nimbin en route. Murwillumbah railway station was the terminus of the Casino–Murwillumbah branch line , and had daily services to Sydney until the line closed in 2004. Today NSW TrainLink coaches to and from Casino provide connections to Sydney, while
308-447: Is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 2270 Nerang-Murwillumbah Road ( 28°08′55″S 153°13′38″E / 28.1486°S 153.2272°E / -28.1486; 153.2272 ( Numinbah Valley State School ) ). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 14 students with 7 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre
352-719: Is also in Murwillumbah. Murwillumbah was used as the location for the film Lou (2010) starring John Hurt . The ABC television series of the novel Pastures of the Blue Crane was also filmed in the Tweed region in 1969. In 2018, the town was used as a film location for the Netflix-distributed Lunatics (2019) starring Chris Lilley . The town is close to the filming location of British reality TV show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here and
396-568: Is an Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre at 1721 Nerang-Murwillumbah Road ( 28°06′35″S 153°14′37″E / 28.1096°S 153.2437°E / -28.1096; 153.2437 ( Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre ) ). There is no secondary school in Numinbah Valley. The nearest secondary school is Nerang State High School in Nerang to the north-east. The Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk traverses
440-443: Is named after a noted local World War II Spitfire pilot, the late Bob Whittle. There are no scheduled flights, but its 800-metre grass runway supports Murwillumbah Aero Club and business activities including crop-dusting, aircraft restoration, training and scenic charter flights. Aside from tourism , the major industry of the area, is sugarcane growing. The sugar mill at nearby Condong was served by numerous tramways until 1973 saw
484-638: Is often abbreviated to M'bah or Murbah . At the 2021 census , Murwillumbah had a population of 9,812. Many of the buildings are Art Deco in style and there are cafes, clothes shops and antique shops in the town. The first people to live in the area were Kalibai people . The name Murwillumbah may derive from an Aboriginal compound meaning either "camping place" – from murrie , meaning "aboriginal people", wolli , "a camp", and bah , "place" – or alternatively from murra , "big", willum , "possum", and bah . Nearby Mount Warning and its attendant national park are known as Wollumbin, meaning "Cloud Catcher", in
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#1732775596461528-581: Is used as a base for staff and crew working on the show. Notable people from Murwillumbah include: Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales , located between 590 and 820 kilometres (370 and 510 mi) north of the state capital, Sydney , and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence , Richmond , and Tweed rivers. It extends from Tweed Heads in
572-473: The 2016 census , Numinbah Valley had a population of 218 people. In the 2021 census , Numinbah Valley had a population of 212 people. At one of three places in Queensland perlite is extracted from a deposit in the valley and trucked to Sydney. The Numinbah Correctional Centre is located within the locality. A Numinbah Valley Landcare group operates in the valley. Numinbah Valley State School
616-652: The Bundjalung language . Timber-getters were drawn to the region in the 1840s. The river port at Tumbulgum was initially the main settlement. In 1902, a local government municipality was declared with Murwillumbah as its centre. Most of the town's business district was destroyed by fire in 1907. In 1918 an initial 18 allotments were advertised for sale in the Hartigan Estate and a subsequent 200 allotments were advertised for sale in September 1920. The land
660-593: The City of Gold Coast , Queensland , Australia. In the 2021 census , Numinbah Valley had a population of 212 people. The Numinbah Valley is a valley and locality in the Gold Coast hinterland in South East Queensland . This Scenic Rim valley covers 116 km and contains cleared grazing land, rocky outcrops, waterfalls, rainforest walks and good hinterland scenery. Lonely Planet has described
704-775: The Coral Sea and the Tasman Sea to the east and the New England region to the west, where the Great Dividing Range forms a mountainous boundary. To the north is the border between New South Wales and Queensland, where the Darling Downs are located to the north-west and South East Queensland directly to the north. The southern boundary is the Dorrigo ranges, which also mark the southern boundary for
748-482: The North Coast railway line which links Sydney to Brisbane. The northernmost part of the region contains Mount Warning and the surrounding remnants of the long-extinct Tweed Volcano , portions of which extend into southern Queensland . Immediately to the south was formerly the " Big Scrub ", an extensive area of subtropical rainforest that was largely cleared for timber-getting and subsequently dairy farming in
792-574: The Southern Cross University , which is headquartered at Lismore and has campuses in Tweed Heads and Coffs Harbour . The North Coast Institute of TAFE has campuses at Lismore , Ballina , Casino , Grafton , Kingscliff , Maclean , Trenayr, Wollongbar and Yamba . There are several local sporting competitions, including: The region has also produced several famous sportspeople, including: Some sporting venues on
836-583: The Tweed Valley in northern New South Wales. Vegetation in the valley includes dry and wet sclerophyll forest . The valley is part of the upper catchment area for the Nerang River which flows into the Hinze Dam in the lowest elevated and most northern part of the valley. The communities of Advancetown and the small township of Numinbah are located in Numinbah Valley. The river which lies in
880-672: The 2014 Bentley blockade, which protested against exploratory drilling for gas at that location, and flow-on community reaction which eventually led to the New South Wales State Government buying back a coal seam gas exploration licence covering more than 500,000 hectares across the region in October 2015. Prior to European settlement in the nineteenth century, the region was home to the Aboriginal Bundjalung people (or Bandjalang) (including
924-540: The Clarence River Basin. The defining characteristic of the region are the fertile valleys of the Clarence , Richmond and Tweed rivers and their sources, hence the region's name; and the region's white sandy beaches. The following local government areas are contained within the region: The region is traversed by the Pacific Highway , Bruxner Highway , Clarence Way, Summerland Way and
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#1732775596461968-895: The Northern Rivers includes: The Northern Rivers has its own orchestras, the Northern Rivers Symphony Orchestra based in Murwillumbah and the Lismore Symphony Orchestra. Murwillumbah, Lismore and Grafton all have regional art galleries; that at Murwillumbah (the Tweed Regional Gallery) includes the Margaret Olley Art Centre named after the prominent locally-born Australian artist Margaret Olley and includes examples of her work plus
1012-638: The Numinbah valley region is home to the duck billed platypus . The platypus is regularly seen in Bonchow park and Forest park in Numinbah valley. recent studies show that most of the platypus population on the Gold Coast lies in Numinbah valley and Canungra fresh water streams including Scenic Rim suburbs such as Palen Creek , Rathdowney , Mount Barney and surrounding suburbs. The Nerang–Murwillumbah Road runs through from north to south. The valley
1056-741: The Widjabul of the Lismore region, the Arakwal of the Byron Bay area, and the Kalibal and Minjungbal of the Tweed and Queensland border) and the Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl peoples to the south, which collectively still form a component of the local population, and have been successful in some native title land claims on behalf of local Bandjalang and Yaegl communities. The region contains
1100-401: The area work together for purposes such as tourism, education, water catchment management and waste management. This area has a mild, sub-tropical climate. Major industries are agriculture, fisheries, public services (particularly health) and tourism; the region is also popular for niche crops, hobby farmers, and retirees from life in the larger cities. The Northern Rivers region is bounded by
1144-445: The cultivation of macadamia trees which are used for their production of both raw nuts and macadamia oil. Ballina is a fishing port and was a centre for Australia's east coast offshore prawn industry, although boat numbers have declined in recent years, while additional vessels operate out of Iluka and Yamba . Byron Bay was at one time a centre for commercial whaling as well as mineral extraction via sand mining. Further south,
1188-470: The decriminalisation of recreational and medicinal cannabis , as evidenced by its annual MardiGrass celebration. Following some decades of population decline with the reduction of certain primary industry (in particular dairying), the area is now seeing a population increase, in part because of the availability of ex-dairy land for newer niche crops and hobby farms along with an influx of "sea change" and "tree change" families, as well as retirees attracted by
1232-493: The introduction of mechanical cane harvesting. There is also some dairy farming in the area. Coffee, bananas and assorted tropical fruit and vegetables are also produced throughout the area. South Murwillumbah is home to Stone & Wood Brewing Co. 's second brewery, which opened in 2014. There are alternative lifestyle retreats nearby, including one of the Hare Krishna organisation. The annual Tweed Banana Festival ,
1276-407: The local banana industry declined when refrigeration and better transport links facilitated the supply of cheaper competition from Queensland. The Northern Rivers was served for over a century by the Murwillumbah railway line , although, amidst some ongoing controversy, services were suspended in 2004. Numinbah Valley Download coordinates as: Numinbah Valley is a rural locality in
1320-596: The nineteenth century. The major towns of the area developed at the navigable heads of the local river systems (Murwillumbah on the Tweed, Lismore on the Wilsons – a tributary of the Richmond – and Grafton on the Clarence) rather than on the coast, in order to be able to transport the valuable timber products (in particular the Australian red cedar, Toona ciliata ) to markets interstate and overseas. Dairy production in
1364-585: The north (adjacent to the Queensland border) to the southern extent of the Clarence river catchment which lies between Grafton and Coffs Harbour , and includes the main towns of Tweed Heads , Byron Bay , Ballina , Kyogle , Lismore , Casino and Grafton. At its most northern point, the region is 102 kilometres (63 mi) south-southeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane . As with all regions of New South Wales, it has no official status, although state government department offices and local governments in
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1408-560: The region was extensive up until the 1970s and many towns in the area retain their dairy processing plants ("butter factories") from that era, now largely re-purposed for other uses; dairy cattle were then largely replaced with beef cattle for economic reasons, although some dairy production remains. The north of the region is an important sugarcane growing area with smaller contributions from coffee, bananas and assorted tropical fruit and vegetables. The hills with their red volcanic soils inland from Byron Bay provide Australia's main region for
1452-622: The region's subtropical climate and unique combination of lifestyle attributes. From the 1970s onwards, the northern portion of the region has also been the scene of successful environmental protests aimed at preventing the destruction of the area's significant natural assets, including the 1979 Terania Creek anti-logging protest in the Nightcap National Park which led to the then Wran State Government gazetting remaining rainforest in New South Wales as National Parks,
1496-436: The remnants of Tropical Cyclone Debbie fell in its upper catchment over a 36-hour period. There was extensive and severe flooding, with mass evacuations from South Murwillumbah and other low-lying areas, and road access cut from both north and south. It fell just short of overtopping the 6.3 metres (21 ft) levees protecting the central business district. The March 1974 flood caused two hundred people to be evacuated from
1540-418: The rural portions of the Clarence river catchment are predominantly used for forestry, agriculture and grazing. The region as a whole includes a significant component of New South Wales' state forests and national parks, and tourism is important in the north of the region in particular, especially in Tweed Heads , which is effectively a southern extension of the Gold Coast , and Byron Bay, which has developed
1584-528: The second oldest festival in Australia is staged in the town. In 2005, the festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. From 2002 to 2009 an historic motor racing festival was run through the streets of Murwillimbah, featuring a parade through town, a one kilometre hillclimb course, and connected events, attracting thousands of spectators. Modeled on the Goodwood Festival of Speed , Speed on Tweed
1628-554: The station itself is used as a tourist information centre. Several bus services serve the area. Murwillumbah Bus Company offers regular services to major parts of the town, as well as Condong and Uki. Parson's Bus Service links passengers with Pottsville, Cabarita Beach, and Stokers Siding. Gosel's Bus Service offers services to Nimbin via Uki. Singh's Bus Service links the town to Chillingham, Tyalgum and Eungella. Kinetic Group operate hourly service to Tweed Heads via Terranora . Murwillumbah's airfield, Whittle Field (ICAO code YMUR),
1672-409: The town after floodwater from Tropical Cyclone Zoe inundated the area. In January 2008, Murwillumbah and its surrounding areas were hit by severe flooding, while May 2009 saw more evacuations in the town and surrounds after very heavy rainfall. Major flooding also occurred in 2022. The 2022 floods were the worst seen on record. Even worse than 2017, much of Murwillumbah was inundated. Murwillumbah has
1716-816: The valley as the most beautiful in South East Queensland. Compared to other areas of the Gold Coast the Numinbah Valley has remained largely undeveloped in recent decades. To the east is the Springbrook plateau. On the eastern side of the valley is the Natural Bridge in Springbrook National Park and to the west lies the Lamington Plateau and the Lamington National Park . To the south is
1760-416: Was 46 years, 8 years above the national median of 38. 81.0% of people living in Murwillumbah were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 3.4%, New Zealand 2.0%, India 1.1%, Germany 0.4%, and Philippines 0.4%. 87.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were Punjabi 0.9%, Spanish 0.4%, French 0.3%, German 0.3% and Hindi 0.2%. Murwillumbah has
1804-411: Was a highlight of the local calendar attracting cars and competitors from all over Australia and from Europe and North America. In September 2009 the event was held in conjunction with Rally Australia which has scheduled one special stage in Murwillumbah. In the 2021 census , Murwillumbah recorded a population of 9,812 people, 52.5% female and 47.5% male. The median age of the Murwillumbah population
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1848-505: Was bounded by the Tweed River and Commercial Road on the east, Condong Street on the north, Riverview Street on the west and Elizabeth Street to the south. The subdivision was sold as part of the estate of Denis Hartigan. In December 1923, "Bray Estate" made up of 9 farm and farmlet blocks was advertised to be auctioned by A. E. Budd & Son. Murwillumbah was the location of Australia's largest bank robbery, when A$ 1.7 million in cash
1892-661: Was first explored by timber cutters seeking cedar in 1845. Bullocks hauled the felled timber to Nerang . Later in the 1860s, when a route to the Tweed Valley was discovered as surveyors mapped the Queensland/New South Wales border, settlers moved into the area. A township developed in the 1880s. A sawmill operated from 1909 until 1944 when agriculture and dairying became the primary industries. Numinbah Provisional School opened on 7 February 1927. In 1938 it became Numinbah Valley State School. In
1936-669: Was stolen from the vault of the Bank of New South Wales by the 'Magnetic drill gang' in 1978. The case remains unsolved. In November 2023, fire ants were discovered at Murwillumbah, the first time the species has been found outside of South East Queensland since the outbreak began in 2001. Murwillumbah is protected by a series of levees , but they do not protect all parts of the town in major floods. The worst inundation, exceeding those of 1954, 1956, 1974, 2008 and 2009, started on 30 March 2017. The Tweed River reached 6.2 metres (20 ft) after rainfall of over 700 millimetres (28 in) from
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