Tamworth offers more than it's legendary Country Music Festival

To say that Tamworth is the heart of the country is not an exaggeration. The city of Tamworth, host to the yearly Tamworth Country Music Festival, is Australia's country music representative to the world. It is no accident that this town in Central NSW would carry that banner. Tamworth has been a quintessential Australian country town ever since its rough and tumble turbulent beginnings.

When explorer John Oxley was traveling through the Peel River Valley just north of Tamworth in 1818, he commented that "No place in this world can offer more advantages to the industrious settler than this extensive vale." Oxley's sentiments have been echoed repeatedly in the nearly 200 years since he uttered those words. While he might have envisioned a glorious future for the region, he couldn't possibly have known what the future had in store for Tamworth.

The first squatters in the Tamworth area were soon followed by the Australian Agricultural Company (AAC) after it had been given an enormous grant to expand the region in 1830. Four years later, they brought in the first stock of 6000 sheep. In 1850, Tamworth formally became a town. At that time, its population was only 252, but when gold was discovered in neighboring Nundle and Tamworth grew into the regional capital. By the end of the century, it had a railway line connecting Tamworth with Newcastle and it became referred to as 'The City of Light' when it became the first city within the Southern Hemisphere to get municipal electric street lights.

When local radio station 2TM began Hoedown, a country music program, the station owners had no idea what a hit their show would become. Hoedown became so well liked that Tamworth became synonymous with Australian country music. The town capitalized on its popularity and created the annual Country Music Awards, which evolved into the annual country music event which is now called the Australasian Country Music Festival. Every year, the population of Tamworth swells to over 100,000 as country music fans from around the world flock to this now famous event.

Whether you are going to Tamworth for the festival or not, you will want to take in a few of the sights in the area. Apart from a visit to the Golden Guitar and the Wax Museum, where you will see the stars of country music's lifelike images, be sure and explore the rest of the region. Towns like Nundle, Bendemeer and Barraba and the surrounding countryside are what inspired Australia's country music. While you travel around the region, you will get that country feeling. Who knows, you could even write your own hit country song!

Although Tamworth is far from the major metropolitan centers of New South Wales, it is easily accessible by road, rail or air. Once you're there, you will not have any trouble at all finding a comfortable Tamworth accommodation to make your stay very enjoyable. Tamworth is used to playing host to visitors from around the world and you will discover everything there to make your visit a memorable one.


Take a few days off, find Tamworth accommodation, things to do and other travel related information about the area on bookitnow.com.au. Or visit our Australia blog for more Australian holiday ideas.