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.

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 ) 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. [1] 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. [2]

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. [3]

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

* 1818 - Explorer John Oxley passes through the area on his exploration mission. Names the river that now runs through the town: Peel River, after English Prime Minister Robert Peel, whose name is also that of the main street.
* 1831 - First sheep and cattle stations, namely Joseph Brown's 'Wallamoul' and William Dangar's 'Waldoo'. The exploring expedition led by Major Mitchell visited 'Wallamoul' in December 1831 on its way to the north-west.
* 1834 - First AAC sheep brought to the Tamworth region.
* 1851 - The white population of the village of Tamworth was 254.
* 1861 - Population 654.
* 1888 - Power station opened and enables beginning of electric street lighting.
* 1918 - An anchor is unveiled as a memorial to the discovery of Tamworth district.
* 1946 - Proclaimed a city. {{cite web