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Tourism and Events

 Located at the junction of the New England and Oxley Highways, the Tamworth region is an easy five hour drive from Sydney and six from Brisbane. We’re ideally situated on the main inland track from Victoria to Queensland. There are five daily return flights between Sydney and Tamworth, with daily train and bus services to the region as well. There are also daily flights and bus services to Brisbane.

The Tamworth region is one of the most progressive and exciting places in inland Australia, combining country living with city style, history, sport and culture. Tamworth is known as the home of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, held in January each year, which attracts over 50,000 visitors to the region.  In July, our annual 'mini' festival Hats off to Country is held. For further information on either of these events, please visit the Tamworth Country Music Festival website. 

For tickets or regional tourism information, visit Tourism Tamworth.

 For information about country music in the region all year round, visit TamworthCountryMusic.com.au.

There are, however, things to do all year round. We’ve got more than 160 parks and open spaces, from Bicentennial Park in the centre of the city, to the Botanic Gardens, sports fields and play places. We boast world class sporting fields which host a range of state and national championships.

Outdoors, there’s wide open spaces, with some steep slopes coming off the New England Ranges of the Great Dividing Range about 30km north, the fertile floodplains of the Peel and Cockburn Rivers and undulating land to the west. 

Indoors, Tamworth offers cultural activities with art galleries, a Conservatorium of Music, museums and libraries. There are more than 60 places to stay, from five star hotels to apartments, units, bed and breakfasts, farm stays, and caravan parks and camping grounds.

The Tamworth region has a strong equine heritage, with several equine associations based here. In 2008, construction of the $30 million Australian Equine & Livestock Events Centre (AELEC) was completed. With over 3000 tiered seats, and almost 500 stables, AELEC caters for a huge range of national and local equine and livestock events throughout the year.

Recent focus groups confirmed what we always knew to be true, the main street of Tamworth is one of our biggest draw cards, being described as welcoming, relaxing and ‘like a picture’.  Our retail and commercial centre is the regional capital of the New England and North West area with a population of some 200,000 residents. People regularly come from 200km for our shopping and entertainment.

Our regional towns are not standing still either, but are building on their beauty and heritage with great festivals and events.

Nundle is located 45 minutes east of Tamworth.  The drive will take you past rich farming lands, picturesque picnic spots and some of the best fishing in NSW.  Nundle, Woolomin and Hanging Rock are true country.  Visit Chaffey Dam outside Woolomin, and head to Nundle for a visit to one of the oldest working woollen mills, dine at the beautifully restored Jenkins Street Guesthouse or enjoy a counter lunch at the local Pub before heading on to Hanging Rock.  For more information, visit www.nundle.com.

Bendemeer is situated 42 km to the north of Tamworth and hugs the banks of the trout-abundant McDonald River in the Moonbi Ranges. The Bendemeer area is famed for its fine wool, fat lambs and prime beef. Swimming holes on the McDonald River provide refreshing relief from the summer heat, while the delightful old village offers many points of interest.

Manilla is an historic country town at the junction of the Manilla and Namoi rivers some 44 km north of Tamworth on the Fossickers Way. Manilla has a population of 2,110 people and lies between two magnificent lakes – Lake Keepit to the southwest and Split Rock Dam to the north.  Manilla is internationally renowned for its air sports and in 2007 hosted the World Paragliding Championships.  Visitors can experience the 'thermals' for themselves, but for those who like to keep both feet on the ground, try some gold fossicking or bushwalking.  Manilla also provides visitors with the opportunity to get up close to local platypus who are regularly spotted along the river.

Barraba, 90 km north of Tamworth along the Fossickers Way, is situated on the Manilla River, in the heart of the Nandewar Ranges. The 1510 metre high extinct volcano, Mount Kaputar, lies to the west, while the geological and fossicking area of the Peel fault lies to the east.  Barraba is also an excellent base for bird watching, with regular sightings of the endangered Regent Honeyeater as well as over 190 other bird varieties.

For more information on regional touring, visit the Tourism Tamworth website.

 

 

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