Tenterfield NSW

We had only ever really driven through Tenterfield on the way up the New England Highway to Queensland. It had always looked an interesting and busy place. And we can all sing the song. We also knew there were some great NPs close by and were looking forward to getting to know this interesting town and area. We were not disappointed – loved this place.

Getting There

We were in Tenterfield on the 28th December 2021 to 1 January 2022

Armidale > Tenterfield (216kms)

Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia

History

The region around Tenterfield was inhabited for tens of thousands of years by the Jukembal (Yukambul) people, the Bundjalung and the Kamilaroi who each had their own territories.

The Jukembal were the first people to inhabit the Tenterfield district with their territory straddling the Great Dividing Range from near Glen Innes to Stanthorpe.

The name Jukembal means “the people who say jogom” (jogom meaning no). The Jukembal people reputedly called the area ‘Moombillen’, meaning ‘place of wild honey’.

One of the best known local geographic features – Bald Rock – served as neutral ground and a boundary, enabling the different nations to meet and trade without trespassing on each other’s lands. Another people, the Githabul, lived in the northern part of the Shire.

The first British to reach the area was Allan Cunningham when returning from his exploration of the Darling Downs in 1827. The first British settlers arrived in the late 1830s. The town of Tenterfield was gazetted in 1851.

Inevitable there was conflict between the settlers and the First Nations people. Situated 10km from Tenterfield, Bluff Rock is the location of the first known conflict between local First Nations people (believed to be either the Jukembal or Ngarabal people) and the British settlers, which occurred in 1844.

There are conflicting versions of the event, however a common version is that a station hand was killed by First Nations people at the station. The indigenous people fled to the rock, chased by a group of station men, who caught them and threw them from the top, killing most of the tribe and injuring the remaining.

Tenterfield is sometimes referred to as the ‘birthplace of Australia’, this being the town where Sir Henry Parkes made his famous 1889 speech calling for Australia‘s federation, which led to the establishment of Australia as a nation in 1901.

Today Tenterfield is surrounded by rich sheep and cattle country. It is known for its orchards and in recent times it has become an important cold climate wine area. It is also the gateway to some excellent nearby National Parks.

Day 1 – Tuesday 28 December – To Tenterfield

At our van park in Armidale, it had been raining through the night and as predicted we had a stream running through our site from the road and other sites. It ran right at the step of the van so everything was generally wet. Fortunately the rain eased for a while and we were able to pack up without too much drama. I was very relieved to drive away form that van park – my least favourites for quite a while.

It was a rainy, misty drive north on the New England Highway. Guyra looked an interesting town but we did not stop. We saw the Red Lion (near Glencoe?), an impressive looking hotel.

Then we saw 2 large stones upright supporting another cross stone. Written on it was “Celtic Country”. The stone arrangements were similar to those found at ancient Celtic graves, although not the same as those I am familiar with in Ireland. We guess this is more the Scottish Celtic tradition. There is a similar arrangement of stones further north. It seems that the area is associated with Glen Innes, and it was not long before we reached the town.

Glenn Innes

Glenn Innes is so impressive – we parked the car & van and walked around the main streets. There are some great buildings to view and great streetscapes. Here are a few – to see more click here for an amazing range of buildings for one small town. Photos are here. The Town Hall and the corner pub were the standouts for me – but so many wonderful buildings.

After that fascinating walk around, we got back on the New England Highway for Tenterfield.

We quickly got to the van park which was about 1km out of town near the railway museum. It is a strange park as the offices are located in a heritage building – the Tenterfield Lodge. It’s a lovely looking building.

The van site is pretty good, though the park is quite busy. We had space and did not at all feel hemmed in. All to our communications worked including the TV.

After setting up we drove back into town and walked around to get an initial feel for the town. I immediately spotted this on the main street – Barnaby Joyce’s office right next door to The Tenterfield Counsellor – priceless.

We saw so many impressive buildings including the most famous one.

Plenty of others.

Day 2 – Wednesday 29 December – Town walk & Mackenzie Drive

Walk around town

In the morning we spent some more time walking through the town. In a closed car yard we saw a very old Holden about to be auctioned. It looked in great condition – must be worth a bomb.

We then walked around to look at the old buildings and homes, as we often do. There are so many that they can’t all be included in this main post – to see them all click here. Here are just a few of our favourites.

After the walk around town we went out to see some of the gardens – there are many around town. One with a lovely rotunda on the road out to the van park.

Another with a strange statue near the entrance – someone holding up the world – but then with a lovely array of trees.

There is a circular garden at one point and 4 pathways leading to that with trees forming an archway on each of the 4 paths. Very pretty.

We also went to see the Cork Tree. This was brought from England in 1861 and has never been harvested. It is said to be the largest cork tree in Australia.

Mount Mackenzie Drive

In the afternoon we took the Mount Mackenzie Drive. This Drive (Tourist Drive 9) is only a 38kms drive from Tenterfield but it is an excellent introduction to the granite outcrops of the New England landscape. There are instructions at the Tourist Information Office.

This is a really picturesque drive surrounded by the mountains, farmland, rock formations and multi-coloured woodlands of the area. To read about our excellent experiences on the Drive click here, highly recommended. Photos can be seen here.

The road back to town is sealed and we pass a nice house on the way to see the railway station. This magnificent building is now a museum which was unfortunately closed for out visit. We were able to walk around the outside – probably not supposed to, but we did. Would love to have seen inside.

Railway Museum

Day 3 – Thursday 30 December – Bald Rock, Boonoo Boonoo

Thunderbolts Hideout & WW2 tank traps

It was an overcast start to the day but the clouds mostly cleared to scattered clouds.

We were really looking forward to seeing these 2 NPs. They are close together and we take the Mt Lindsay Rd. But first up is a stop to see Thunderbolts Hideout a short drive (12km) out from town.

There is a clear signpost for the Hideout and we parked and walked the 300m to the cave. Thunderbolt had many hideouts and this is the easiest to get to. There are large rocks surrounding the cave and one large rock served as a lookout, as the road was the main route to Warwick in the gold-mining times. And a perfect place to hold up the gold wagons.

On one of the rocks there was a carved inscription – we got no information on that.

The cave would make a great shelter. Apparently he could stable his horses in a flat area between the rocks, although that was not obvious.

Just up the road is the WW2 tank traps. Believe it on not, these were a key part of plans to defend Australia from the invading Japanese. Large rocks were moved in to force any tanks into the trap area. These posts were designed to lift up the front of the tank so that the underneath could be targeted by defending troops. Thankfully they were never used.

Bald Rock

We decided to go to Bald Rock NP first as there is really only one thing to do there – get to the top of the rock. At the picnic area we paid our $8 day fee, noting that this also gave us entry to Boonoo Boonoo. Its a good picnic area.

This walk is one of the best experiences I have had for some time – it is stunning at the top of the rock. All of the write-up is too much to be included in this main post – to read about our full experience click here. Photos can be seen here.

I only went a small way up the rock, but the views were pretty spectacular. The signage for the walk was completely wrong – thus we had to walk straight up the rock, instead of gradually coming around from the other side.

Leaving Bald Rock, heading south on Mt Lindsay Rd to Boonoo Boonoo NP, we saw the “Bike Trail” – it speaks for itself.

Boonoo Boonoo NP

The Boonoo Boonoo NP is well signposted and is only 27km from Tenterfield. The activities at the NP are excellent – it is a truely great experience.

All of the write-up is too much to be included in this main post – to read our full experience click here. Photos can be seen here.

Day 4 – Friday 31 December – around town

On my morning walk out to Tenterfield water supply dam I got rained on and had to scurry back for shelter until the shower stopped. I had been enjoying the walk but had not reached the dam. So later we had a final drive around town, to catch a final few places and buildings, including the dam.

More churches.

I have been impressed by the kerbs and gutters right through the town. A metal horse and some lovely homes. There are obviously some pretty keen gardeners around town… some of the gardens were just beautiful.