Murwillumbah

Murwillumbah is a town of approximately 7,500 people in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed Shire. It lies on the Tweed River, 848 km north-east of Sydney, 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Murwillumbah had a population of 7,952 people.

Overview
Murwillumbah sits on the eastern foothills of the McPherson Range and is quite hilly. Many of the buildings are Art Deco in style and there are plenty of good cafes, clothes and antique shops to explore. A diverse range of people coexist peacefully and celebrate each year with the Tweed Banana Festival, the second oldest festival in Australia. Murwillumbah was also nominated one of the top ten sea/tree change towns in Australia.

The name Murwillumbah derives from an Aboriginal word meaning "camping place" – from Murrie, meaning "aboriginal people", Wolli, "a camp"; and Bab, "the place of".

The town was bypassed by the Pacific Highway in August 2002. There is an inland road that passes through the towns of Chillingham, Numinbah and Natural Bridge which has tremendous scenic value.

Another road, equally as scenic goes to Kyogle via the town Uki, and also passes near the town of Nimbin.

The first people to live in the area were Bundjalung people. Nearby Mount Warning and its attendant National park are known as Wollumbin, meaning "Cloud Catcher", in the Bundjalung language.

The major industry of the area, apart from tourism, is sugarcane growing. There were numerous tramways in the area serving the sugar mill at Condong. There is also some dairy farming in the area. There are a number of alternative lifestyle retreats nearby as well, notably one belonging to the Hare Krishna religion.

Murwillumbah was the terminus of the Casino-Murwillumbah branch line, and had daily train services to Sydney until the line was closed in 2004.

Since 2002 an annual historic motor racing festival has been run through the streets of Murwillimbah, featuring a parade through town a one kilometre hillclimb course and numerous connected events, attracting thousands of spectators. Modeled on the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Speed on Tweed was a highlight of the local calendar attracting cars and competitors from all over Australia and from Europe and North America. In September 2009 the event will be held in conjunction with Rally Australia which has scheduled one special stage in Murwillumbah.

Murwillumbah is the eighth town mentioned in the original Australia version of the song "I've Been Everywhere".

Education
Murwillumbah's schools cater to the various individual needs of students and their families.


 * Primary Schools
 * Mt St Patrick's Primary School
 * Murwillumbah East Primary School
 * Santhy Sai Primary School
 * South Murwillumbah's Infants School
 * St Joseph's Primary School
 * Murwillumbah Primary School


 * Secondary Schools
 * Mount Saint Patrick's College
 * Murwillumbah High School
 * Wollumbin High School
 * Tweed Valley College

Born in Murwillumbah

 * Alfred Walter Arnold (b. 1920), Australian cyclist
 * Lindsay Dudley Arnold (b. 1923), Australian cyclist
 * Reginald Athelstane Arnold (b. 1924), Australian cyclist
 * John Hargreaves (b. 1945), Australian actor
 * Dr. Gerald M Lawrie (b. 1945), Professor of Cardiac Surgery, Houston, Texas
 * Larry Corowa (b. 1957), Australian international rugby league player
 * Bob Downe (b. 1966), stage persona of the comedian Mark Trevorrow
 * Dr. Nathan Proctor (b. 1969), Professor of rural medicine
 * Nathan Eglington (b. 1980), Australian field hockey midfielder and striker
 * Stephanie Gilmore (b. 1988), Australian surfer with three world titles
 * Tallulah Morton (b. 1991), Australian Model