NSW 16
New England Tours7, TamworthTamworth
The largest city in New England: Tamworth, also known as the Golden Guitar City, the capital of country music. With a population of 43,000, it is located in northern New South Wales, a 5-hour drive from Sydney. It is the second largest inland city in New South Wales. It is 318 kilometers from the Queensland border and is located between Brisbane and Sydney.
You can arrive by train from Sydney's Central Station or by flight. If we pass by Narribri on our way back to Sydney, it takes about two hours by car. The transportation is very convenient and we can visit Gunnedah, the capital of koalas.
The city of Tamworth is known as the "First Light Town" and became the first city in Australia to use electric lighting in 1888. It is also known as the "Country Music Capital of Australia". Every year at the end of January, it hosts the Tamworth Country Music Festival, which is the second largest country music festival in the world after Nashville.
The largest music festival in the Southern Hemisphere is held annually over 10 days, attracting around 50,000 visitors per day and featuring over 700 artists performing in 2,800 events scheduled across 80 venues. There is no end to the changes in country music! There are over 600 street artists on Peel Street alone, providing a rich and diverse entertainment experience every day.
The festival’s finale is the Australian Country Music Awards’ Golden Guitar Award, where celebrities from the Australian country music scene and country music fans will gather to await the announcement of the winner of the prestigious Golden Guitar Award. The awards will be presented on the second Saturday of the concert at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Convention Centre.
Tamworth Country Music Festival – There is nothing more fun than this music festival!
In town, the Hands of Fame Park displays the handprints of more than 300 country music stars, including Tamworth.New South Wales suburbsIt is a sports and entertainment center with advanced facilities that host a variety of events throughout the year. Enjoy the fun at the National Professional Rodeo in January and the Hats Off to Country Festival in July.
exist Leconfield Jillaroo and Jackaroo School During the 11-day course, you can also learn horseback riding and cowboy cattle herding techniques. Draught cattle and sheep farms are located near Tanwood, and the local agriculture is very famous. The region's agricultural focus is on sheep, beef, poultry, cereals and dairy products, but there are also newer businesses such as vineyards, olive groves, nuts, fisheries, honey and delicious berries.
You can enjoy top-quality produce at many local restaurants. You can also enjoy the delicious fresh produce of Tamworth at the 10-day Taste Tamworth Festival in April. You can also find more exciting adventures and experiences, such as national park trails, kayaking, fishing, water sports, horseback riding, bird watching and geocaching.
Big Golden Guitar
The giant golden guitar is one of the many “big” attractions that can be found in Australia. It is one of New England's most famous attractions. It is also the protagonist of the country music festival. This golden guitar is about 12 meters tall and weighs more than 500 kilograms. It is constructed of fiberglass and wood with steel reinforcements. The Golden Guitar has no strings as it is a direct imitation of the Golden Guitar trophy presented at the Australian Country Music Awards at country music festivals.
In 1988, the golden guitar was erected in front of the famous Longyard Hotel on Sydney Road. It was launched by Australia's most popular country music artist, Slim Dusty. Its location in Tamworth symbolises the city's recognition and celebration of Australian country music and artists.
The awards ceremony is held every year to present miniature golden guitars to artists and musicians in recognition of their achievements and contributions to country music. An estimated 3.6 million photographs have been taken at the site since it opened. In 2019, the Tan Huo Si Visitor Information Center located in the Golden Guitar Tourism Center received more than 200,000 tourists. The Dajin Guitar Tourism Center is also equipped with a national guitar museum, souvenir center, hotel and coffee shop. It is not to be missed.
Here, I would like to add that Gunnedah, the world's koala capital, is mentioned above.
Gunnedah, once home to more than 3000 koalas, is in danger of losing its title as the "koala capital of the world" with numbers believed to be plummeting. Environmental consultant John Lemon, known for his research on koalas in Gunnedah, said he believed koala numbers had fallen by at least 601tph since 2007.
"In the near future, Gunnedah's claim to being the koala capital of the world may be challenged by other centres as koala numbers decline," Mr Lemon said.
Mr Lemon, who worked with Dr Dan Lunney on a project between 2008 and 2011 that tracked more than 50 koalas over three years, believes the animals are migrating to cooler climates.
"From about November to December 2009, we saw the end of a long drought and a series of heat waves," he said. "During that time we estimate we lost around 25% of koalas - and that's a conservative estimate." About 80% of Warrambungles koalas are thought to have died in the 2013 bushfires. He said the koala's ordeal continued with temperatures hitting a record high of 46.9 degrees Fahrenheit on January 3 this year.
"We have a perfect environmental disaster on our hands," Lemon said.
He said extreme weather, increased frequency of droughts, time gaps between rainfall and rising temperatures that are toxic to the leaves of the koala tree are not conducive to the survival of koalas.
"Their immune systems are compromised, which makes them more susceptible to chlamydia, which is endemic in their population." He said he used to see eight to 12 koalas a week and hadn't seen them in 14 weeks. Nearly half of the people he has seen this year appear to have symptoms of chlamydia.
Koalas are animals unique to Australia. Their lazy appearance and docile personality make them loved by everyone. However, due to a variety of reasons, people may watch koalas go extinct within this century.
The Australian Koala Foundation has announced that it believes there are now fewer than 80,000 koalas left in Australia, and the species could be classified as "functionally extinct". The foundation's president, Deborah Tabart, called on Australia to implement the Koala Protection Act as soon as possible to ensure that this iconic species is not lost.
It is estimated that when the British landed in Australia in 1788, the number of koalas exceeded 10 million. However, research shows that there were only about 430,000 koalas left in Australia in the 1990s. By 2010, the number had dropped to 200,000. Today, there are less than 80,000 left. Experts believe that koalas are very likely to become extinct within 50 years.
The decline in koalas has caused concern across Australia, said Cheyne, director of the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie. "It would be a disgrace to Australia if we lost this national symbol," said Cheyne Flanagan, a former Australian economist.
Next episode we’ll leave New England and head back to the coastline.
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