Tamworth Travel Guide

COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL!!!

Must see for anyone who is inland close to January. The country music festival is great even for those who do not appreciate country music in the slightest!! Large crowds, lots of alcohol consumption (if you drink this makes it very interesting!!), lots of shopping, live bands - not all country music, etc.

There are lots of shopping stalls in the streets, plus buskers who are very intersting to listen to (some of which are fantastic and you can purchase a cd of theirs if you really like them i.e. Juzzie Smith - he is very alternative and never heard anything like him!!) There are people there with arts and crafts to purchase if you wish.

Although can get very very hot so either bring your own hat or you can purchase a cowboy/girl hat their (plenty of places sell them!!), their is water available as you are walking around the streets also.

Accomodation can be hard to find you might need to book very far in advanced(as in a few years) although if you are lucky enough you might be able to find somewhere that has had a last minute cancellation altho quite rare! Prices during the festival are also extremely expensive for accomodation, meals and beverages. Although Subway don't put up their prices during the festival!

Make sure to bring summer clothes as well as winter clothes incase it gets cold over night, camera, and possibly drinks if you don't like spending a fortune on them once you get there!!

Transport in Tamworth is normally quite good although during the festival can be very hard to get a taxi. If yhou know someone there would make it easier - someone who can drive that is and it is only a short distance from one side of town to the other so no need to panic too much.

At night there are a few places you can see - The Imperial Hotel (this is generally for the younger people-quite dressy), The Goodies, RSL, The family Hotel, etc.

Known as 'The Country Music Capital', Tamworth is thought of as a sort of Australian equivalent to Nashville in the United States, albeit on a far more modest scale. The focus of this self-promotion is the Australasian Country Music Festival, held every January. However, Tamworth is also the commercial and administrative capital of the New England region. It functions as a retail and service centre to the surrounding district which produces wool, dairy products, eggs, fat livestock, poultry, wheat, tobacco, lucerne and honey. There are a number of cattle, horse and sheep studs, a large dairy factory, a flour mill, an abattoir and a large industrial estate at Taminda. Tamworth also boasts several important agricultural schools. It is situated 390 m above sea-level on the Peel River and 412 km north of Sydney at the intersection of the New England and Oxley Highways. Its population is around 40 000. Prior to white settlement the area was occupied by the Kamilaroi people who knew it as 'Calala', thought to mean 'place of battle'. The Tamworth Agricultural Show is held in March. The Tamworth Country Theatre, a live radio-broadcast concert, is held on the third Saturday of each month.

Cette petite ville australienne fait déjà partie du bush. Il s'agit de la capitale australienne de la country music, on y trouve la Big Guitar au centre touristique.