The last reach of the Camden Haven River is commanded by a lone mountain wrapped in rainforest. This is North Brother Mountain, the northernmost of the Three Brothers, running parallel to the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. By amazing coincidence, the Aboriginal name for these peaks, relating to three brothers killed by a …
This growing suburb in the Hunter Region is near the west shore of Lake Macquarie, a vast saltwater lake and a Mecca for recreation. The story of Cooranbong is entwined with the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, which moved here in the 1890s during their mission to Australia and the Pacific Islands. Avondale University College, an absorbing …
This small town neat the Manning River Estuary is a regional centre endowed with an excellent gallery and performing arts stage. Taree is a creative kind of place, with a lively arts and crafts centre and an attraction called Artisans on the Hill, combining a gallery, workshops and accommodation. The Manning River will be a …
The town of Bomaderry lies on the north bank of the Shoalhaven River, across from Nowra, which is the major settlement in the City of Shoalhaven. Bomaderry and Nowra are practically contiguous, and attractions like Shoalhaven Zoo, the historic house museum Meroogal and the sheer cliffs lining the river are all a few minutes away. …
In the dry and distant Queensland outback, the city of Mount Isa was founded in the 1920s when a lone prospector came across one of the world’s largest metal deposits. Within a few years, Mount Isa would be a fully fledged town hooked up to the coast by railway. Mount Isa Mines has brought record-breaking …
In the middle of the 19th century this coastal town at the mouth of the Richmond River was a centre for shipbuilding, and serviced whaling vessels on their way up and down the east coast. Whaling is long consigned to history, but humpback and southern right whales still bring people to Ballina, and you can …
The far-flung township of Alice Springs is a trifling 1,500 kilometres from the nearest city. You could not pick a better place to feel what it means to be in Australia’s Red Centre. The Arrernte Aboriginal people have made it work for tens of thousands of years, and discovering their culture and age-old survival methods …
Now absorbed by Kalgoorlie, the gold mining settlement of Boulder was a separate town until 1989. The prominent town hall and historic architecture on Burt Street speak to Boulder’s historic independence and the money created by gold. Boulder was born in a gold rush in the 1890s, and gold mining continues today at the immense …
Rewind to the second half of the 19th century, and the city of Maryborough was Queensland’s main port, handling anything from timber to wool, meat, alcohol, tobacco and even opium. More than 20,000 people from all over the world began new lives at this very place. The city takes a lot of pride in its …
On the Murray River, the inland Port of Echuca is one of Australia’s great heritage icons, capturing the spirit of the country’s 19th-century pioneers like few other places. The old timber wharf in Echuca is frozen in time in the late-1800s, and moored here is the largest fleet of paddlesteamers in the world. The Discovery …