New England

Introducing New England

New England musters the best of inland NSW and flaunts it in vivid splendour. This patch of turf is one of the best in Australia to enjoy the colours of all four seasons. Their multihued effects complement the mottling of small country towns, perched on river banks or straddling the highways. Focused on a broad main street, they typically feature wide awnings reaching for oversized gutters and a couple of two-storey iron-laced hotels. It’s unadulterated country Oz.

The showier of New England’s big urban two is Tamworth, the heart of Australian country music and boot scooting. Swing your tassels here till they have almost fallen off, and then hop-skip it to the more conservative Armidale. This town simmers with a cosmopolitan energy and acts as a launching pad for a string of national parks to the east, with unforgettably deep gorges and waterfalls.

On the Fossickers Way you’ll need to get out the shovel and dig a little deeper, as each town carries its own signature gem. Whether it be horse riding or an emerging arts scene, the towns in between are the essence of the New England tableland.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009