Coolangatta. Norfolk Island pines and the beach.
Coolangatta/Tweed Heads. Population 72,000.
In 1846 the schooner called the Coolangatta from Alexander Berry’s estate of Coolangatta near Nowra was shipwrecked on the coast here. The name was adopted for the tiny holiday town which was surveyed here in 1883 by the Queensland government. As the town grew in the early 20th century it developed as the first town along the Gold Coast. Meanwhile across the border its twin town, Tweed Heads emerged. Few people settled here except for timber cutters up the Tweed River valley. In 1859 the border placed the Tweed in NSW. A few sugar cane farmers moved into the Tweed in the 1860s and a border customs house was built by NSW in 1871. Tweed Heads emerged as a town with the 1871 customs house, the 1875 telegraph station and the first local school in 1876. Holiday makers started visited the town in the 1880s and a formal town was surveyed and gazetted in 1886. By 1892 there were still only 100 residents in the town. The railway from Casino reached here in 1903 and banana plantations were established beside the sugar plantations in 1909. But the small town only began rapid growth in the 1960s when the Gold Coast became popular. As it is in NSW Tweed Heads differs by an hour a day with Coolangatta when NSW goes onto summertime. Tweeds Heads currently has a population of about 20,000 people but it is part of the Coolangatta Gold Coast region which has a population of 625,000. Coolangatta has a population of about 6,000 people.
The Tweed River Valley.
The northern edge of the Tweed River valley- the McPherson Ranges, marks the border between Queensland and New South Wales and in the middle of the valley is the majestic volcanic peak of Mount Warning which was named by Captain Cook in 1770. Mt Warning is 1,157 metres high (just shy of 4,000 feet).The rich fertile volcanic soils, the year round rainfall and mild climate produce magnificent sub-tropical rainforest where it has not been cleared. The first Europeans into the valley came after the trees especially the Australian red cedar but also rosewood, box, sassafras, tulip wood, hoop pine, mahogany etc. Beneath the trees were ferns, palms, orchids and Elkhorn etc. In past geological times the volcanoes spewed lava which travelled down the valleys till it reached water on the coast at Fingal Heads where it produced hexagonal basalt columns. In other places crystallization formed semi-precious stones- beryl, amethysts and agates. The valley around Mt Warning is in fact a giant volcanic caldera.
Captain Cook named Cape Byron in 1770 and some Dutch explorers might have sighted the area (Abel Tasman went down to Tasmania in 1642) but it was John Oxley who first explored this coast line in 1823 when Governor Brisbane sent him to select a site for a new convict settlement. Oxley chose Moreton Bay but he did name the Tweed River after a river in Scotland. The first land explorer of the region was Henry Rous the second son of the Viscount of Dunwich who sailed north in the frigate the Rainbow in 1828. He discovered the mouth of the Tweed River and set off to explore it with a party of men. He erroneously named it the Clarence River. Rous next discovered the Richmond River which he sailed up for about 20 miles. He named it after the Duke of Richmond. It enters the sea near Ballina after flowing down through Casino, Coraki etc. The Richmond River was the site of an Aboriginal massacre in 1842 near the site of Coraki. Red cedar cutters moved into the district around 1840 and five Europeans were killed here where they were guarding a supplies depot. A reprisal massacre by the Europeans took place shortly afterwards at Evans Heads where according to Bundjalung oral traditions about 100 people were killed. In these early years with few Europeans in the region no press reports or government enquiry seems to have occurred. However, a few years later in 1853-54 another massacre of Aboriginal people occurred near where Ballina is sited under very different circumstances. A Native Police force was established in NSW in the very early 1840s to work with European police troopers. It is believed that some Tweed River Aborigines fled south to the Richmond River after murdering some white workers on the Tweed. The Aboriginal/Native and white police officers surrounded an Aboriginal camp of Bundjalung people and opened fire killing around 30 people. The incident was reported to the NSW government but no action was taken according to a 1922 reminiscence of an early white settler.
The Northern rivers.
This fertile region of NSW has a combined population of 300,000. It is a fertile sub-tropical region with the major cities being Tweed Heads, Lismore, Ballina and Byron Bay. The region has one university which has headquarters in Lismore- Southern Cross University. It also has campuses in Tweed Heads, Coffs Harbour and the Gold Coast. Mount Warning volcano last erupted about 23 million years ago. Its ancient volcanic plug is surrounded by a high ridge of mountains which from a caldera around it. The fertile soils and sub-tropical climate allows the growing of sugar cane, coffee, bananas, avocadoes nuts like macadamia and vegetables and other tropical fruits. Much of the mountainous part of the region is wilderness or National Park if it has not already been cleared. It was anti- logging protests in 1929 at Terania Creek which put Nimbin on the international map and led to the creation of Nightcap National Park in 1983. The group of national parks in this region including Mount Warning, Nightcap, Border Ranges are all part of the United Nations World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforests parks. These parks were listed by the UN in 1986. This parks were added to the Australian Heritage list in 2007.
The Tweed. It rises on the eastern cups of the Great Dividing Range. Part of its course is used as the border between NSW and Queensland. It is just 78 kilometres long and descends 173 metres over its length. It enters the sea with a coastal barrier at Tweed Heads. The main towns on it are Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads. It drains the region around Mount Warning an old volcano cone. The region is and was covered with tropical rainforest with fertile volcanic soils. It has eight tributaries. It has a catchment area of 1,000 square kilometres.
The Brunswick River. It is just 48 kilometres long but it descends 142 metres over this distance. It rises on Mount Jerusalem and passes through Mullumbimby. It enters the sea at Brunswick Heads.
The Richmond. It rises near Mount Lindesay in the Great Dividing Range. It is 237 kilometres long and descends 256 metres over this length. It has 12 major tributaries including the Wilson River. The main towns on it are Kyogle, Casino, Coraki, and Woodburn. We will visit them all. It enters the sea at Ballina. It has a catchment area of nearly 7,000 square kilometres which is the sixth largest in NSW. It is a major river of NSW.
The Evans River. It rises near Woodburn and is just 17 kilometres long. It was named after the explorer Evans. It enters the sea at Evans Heads.
Wilsons River. It rises near Mount Jerusalem in the Nightcap Ranges National Park. It is 131 kilometres long and descends 359 metres. It passes through Lismore and joins the Richmond River of which it is a tributary at Coraki.
The Clarence River. Further south where we do not visit is the Clarence River. It rises in the Great Diving Range and flows 394 kilometres to the sea. It falls 256 metres and has 24 tributaries. It passes through Tabulam (which we visit), Grafton, Ulmarra and Maclean. It has a catchment area of nearly 23,000 square kilometres.
Coolangatta. Norfolk Island pines and the beach.
Coolangatta/Tweed Heads. Population 72,000.
In 1846 the schooner called the Coolangatta from Alexander Berry’s estate of Coolangatta near Nowra was shipwrecked on the coast here. The name was adopted for the tiny holiday town which was surveyed here in 1883 by the Queensland government. As the town grew in the early 20th century it developed as the first town along the Gold Coast. Meanwhile across the border its twin town, Tweed Heads emerged. Few people settled here except for timber cutters up the Tweed River valley. In 1859 the border placed the Tweed in NSW. A few sugar cane farmers moved into the Tweed in the 1860s and a border customs house was built by NSW in 1871. Tweed Heads emerged as a town with the 1871 customs house, the 1875 telegraph station and the first local school in 1876. Holiday makers started visited the town in the 1880s and a formal town was surveyed and gazetted in 1886. By 1892 there were still only 100 residents in the town. The railway from Casino reached here in 1903 and banana plantations were established beside the sugar plantations in 1909. But the small town only began rapid growth in the 1960s when the Gold Coast became popular. As it is in NSW Tweed Heads differs by an hour a day with Coolangatta when NSW goes onto summertime. Tweeds Heads currently has a population of about 20,000 people but it is part of the Coolangatta Gold Coast region which has a population of 625,000. Coolangatta has a population of about 6,000 people.
The Tweed River Valley.
The northern edge of the Tweed River valley- the McPherson Ranges, marks the border between Queensland and New South Wales and in the middle of the valley is the majestic volcanic peak of Mount Warning which was named by Captain Cook in 1770. Mt Warning is 1,157 metres high (just shy of 4,000 feet).The rich fertile volcanic soils, the year round rainfall and mild climate produce magnificent sub-tropical rainforest where it has not been cleared. The first Europeans into the valley came after the trees especially the Australian red cedar but also rosewood, box, sassafras, tulip wood, hoop pine, mahogany etc. Beneath the trees were ferns, palms, orchids and Elkhorn etc. In past geological times the volcanoes spewed lava which travelled down the valleys till it reached water on the coast at Fingal Heads where it produced hexagonal basalt columns. In other places crystallization formed semi-precious stones- beryl, amethysts and agates. The valley around Mt Warning is in fact a giant volcanic caldera.
Captain Cook named Cape Byron in 1770 and some Dutch explorers might have sighted the area (Abel Tasman went down to Tasmania in 1642) but it was John Oxley who first explored this coast line in 1823 when Governor Brisbane sent him to select a site for a new convict settlement. Oxley chose Moreton Bay but he did name the Tweed River after a river in Scotland. The first land explorer of the region was Henry Rous the second son of the Viscount of Dunwich who sailed north in the frigate the Rainbow in 1828. He discovered the mouth of the Tweed River and set off to explore it with a party of men. He erroneously named it the Clarence River. Rous next discovered the Richmond River which he sailed up for about 20 miles. He named it after the Duke of Richmond. It enters the sea near Ballina after flowing down through Casino, Coraki etc. The Richmond River was the site of an Aboriginal massacre in 1842 near the site of Coraki. Red cedar cutters moved into the district around 1840 and five Europeans were killed here where they were guarding a supplies depot. A reprisal massacre by the Europeans took place shortly afterwards at Evans Heads where according to Bundjalung oral traditions about 100 people were killed. In these early years with few Europeans in the region no press reports or government enquiry seems to have occurred. However, a few years later in 1853-54 another massacre of Aboriginal people occurred near where Ballina is sited under very different circumstances. A Native Police force was established in NSW in the very early 1840s to work with European police troopers. It is believed that some Tweed River Aborigines fled south to the Richmond River after murdering some white workers on the Tweed. The Aboriginal/Native and white police officers surrounded an Aboriginal camp of Bundjalung people and opened fire killing around 30 people. The incident was reported to the NSW government but no action was taken according to a 1922 reminiscence of an early white settler.
The Northern rivers.
This fertile region of NSW has a combined population of 300,000. It is a fertile sub-tropical region with the major cities being Tweed Heads, Lismore, Ballina and Byron Bay. The region has one university which has headquarters in Lismore- Southern Cross University. It also has campuses in Tweed Heads, Coffs Harbour and the Gold Coast. Mount Warning volcano last erupted about 23 million years ago. Its ancient volcanic plug is surrounded by a high ridge of mountains which from a caldera around it. The fertile soils and sub-tropical climate allows the growing of sugar cane, coffee, bananas, avocadoes nuts like macadamia and vegetables and other tropical fruits. Much of the mountainous part of the region is wilderness or National Park if it has not already been cleared. It was anti- logging protests in 1929 at Terania Creek which put Nimbin on the international map and led to the creation of Nightcap National Park in 1983. The group of national parks in this region including Mount Warning, Nightcap, Border Ranges are all part of the United Nations World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforests parks. These parks were listed by the UN in 1986. This parks were added to the Australian Heritage list in 2007.
The Tweed. It rises on the eastern cups of the Great Dividing Range. Part of its course is used as the border between NSW and Queensland. It is just 78 kilometres long and descends 173 metres over its length. It enters the sea with a coastal barrier at Tweed Heads. The main towns on it are Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads. It drains the region around Mount Warning an old volcano cone. The region is and was covered with tropical rainforest with fertile volcanic soils. It has eight tributaries. It has a catchment area of 1,000 square kilometres.
The Brunswick River. It is just 48 kilometres long but it descends 142 metres over this distance. It rises on Mount Jerusalem and passes through Mullumbimby. It enters the sea at Brunswick Heads.
The Richmond. It rises near Mount Lindesay in the Great Dividing Range. It is 237 kilometres long and descends 256 metres over this length. It has 12 major tributaries including the Wilson River. The main towns on it are Kyogle, Casino, Coraki, and Woodburn. We will visit them all. It enters the sea at Ballina. It has a catchment area of nearly 7,000 square kilometres which is the sixth largest in NSW. It is a major river of NSW.
The Evans River. It rises near Woodburn and is just 17 kilometres long. It was named after the explorer Evans. It enters the sea at Evans Heads.
Wilsons River. It rises near Mount Jerusalem in the Nightcap Ranges National Park. It is 131 kilometres long and descends 359 metres. It passes through Lismore and joins the Richmond River of which it is a tributary at Coraki.
The Clarence River. Further south where we do not visit is the Clarence River. It rises in the Great Diving Range and flows 394 kilometres to the sea. It falls 256 metres and has 24 tributaries. It passes through Tabulam (which we visit), Grafton, Ulmarra and Maclean. It has a catchment area of nearly 23,000 square kilometres.