The Tenterfield Saddler's shop

World War II tank traps

Bald Rock

Tenterfield Railway Museum

Rock face near Torrington

The step to Captain Thunderbolt's Lookout

Boonoo Boonoo, near Drake

Mystery Face Rock

Tenterfield, the most northerly town in the New South Wales New England District, sees itself as the keeper of a significant proportion of Australia's national history. It was here that the local member for Tenterfield, Henry Parkes, regarded as the father of Federation, made his famous speech that urged the Australian States toward Federation.

Where is it?: New South Wales: New England. tenterfield is 760 km north of Sydney on the New England Highway.

Events: Oracles of the Bush Festival (March/April) is a popular annual celebration of bush poetry. The Tenterfield Food & Wine Festival is held every November.

Things to see and do:

The town has numerous significant connections with the political affairs of not only New South Wales but the Commonweaoth of Australia. The School of Arts building is where Henry Parkes made his famous speech that urged the States toward Federation. Housed in the School of Arts complex is the Henry Parkes museum, the theatre, the library and the Courtyard Café.
Sir Stuart Donaldson, who would become the first Premier of NSW, built Tenterfield Station, where he and Sir Thomas Mitchell, the Surveyor-General fought the last duel in Australia in 1851. Both men survived the incident, so we can assume they were both bad shots.

Famed Australian poet AB 'Banjo' Paterson and Alice Walker were married in St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, in 1903. The Walker family owned Tenterfield Station. Opposite the Royal Hotel in High Street is the famous Tenterfield Saddler, a sandstone building with a wooden verandah. George Woolnough, the third saddler to occupy the premises, was immortalised by his grandson, Peter Allen, in his song, "The Tenterfield Saddler". Peter Allen lived with his grandfather for much of his youth.

The railway line through Tenterfield to the Queensland border has long been closed but the railway station has been kept in use as the site of Tenterfield excellent railway museum. Tenterfield Railway Station and yard is among the most complete station precincts in terms of composition of railway buildings and small objects typical of an important regional style railway station. 

Surrounding area:

The rich volcanic soil and high altitudes of the area are perfect climatic conditions for the production of excellent wines. The Granite Belt Wine region which extends across the border into Queensland, has gained a reputation for its fine Chardonnay, Merlot & Shiraz.

Tenterfield is at the southern end of Queensland's Granite Belt, a region known for its tranquil national parks, rugged country tracks, wineries, gourmet foods, lavender farms and more. Girraween & Sundown National Parks are across the border in Queensland, but Bald Rock National Park (22km north) is on the NSW side. The water-streaked dome of Bald Rock is the largest granite rock in Australia. It is 750 metres long, 500 metres wide and 200 metres high. There are canyons and stone arches on the three hour return walk to the summit, which offers panoramic views. Other walks (four kilometres to 14 kilometres return) take in the surrounding granite country. The track to the foot of Bald Rock is wheelchair accessible with assistance.

Concrete Tank Traps were built during World War II east of Tenterfield in an area known as Paddys Flat to slow down any invasion that might occur should Japanese forces successfully land on Australian soil. The concrete pillars are still visible in and beside the Clarence River near the river crossing. There are some other tank traps just north of Tenterfield on the Bald Rock Road. They consist of log pillars and a concrete wall in the valley.

Originally a mining town surrounded by gold mines, Drake (51km west) is still popular for fossicking and fishing. Today, remnants of these early gold mining days can still be seen. The township is nestled in a picturesque valley surrounded by mountain ranges. Panning for alluvial gold in creeks in the Drake district affords a day that is fun, and some of the old mines are still reachable.

Torrington (61km south west) was a rich tin mining town, but only a few buildings, piles of bricks and rubble remain of what was once a thriving community. The area has large deposits of massive topaz (silexite) which is of interest to the mining industry and to fossickers, though mining has now given way to fossicking and tourism. Visitors come today for the spectacular scenery of rocky granite outcrops, steep gorges, gently flowing streams as well as fossicking for topaz, quartz and the many minerals found in the area. Torrington State Recreation Area features the famous Mystery Face Rock, Captain Thunderbolt's Lookout and many other spectacular rock formations, streams and waterfalls.

History: Tenterfield’s first inhabitants were the Jukembal people who travelled the area from near Glen Innes to Stanthorpe, Queensland.
In 1841 Sir Stuart Donaldson was running 18,000 sheep on a property that he named Tenterfield Station, after a family home in Scotland. Donaldson was the first premier of NSW and made biannual trips to Tenterfield to inspect his holdings there, which covered 100,000 acres (400 km2) of unfenced land. The township was gazetted in 1851 with allotments being sold in 1854. In 1858 gold was discovered at Drake (Fairfield) and shortly afterwards at Timbarra and Boonoo Boonoo.
During 1859 an AJS Bank opened and an Anglican Church was built the following year. In the 1860s The Tenterfield Chronicle was published, the district court was established; the building of a hospital commenced and a public school was opened. In 1870 the population was less than 900, but the town had five hotels, a school of arts and three churches. The existing Tenterfield Post Office was constructed in 1881.
The Main North Railway opened to Tenterfield on 28 October 1884 and in 1886 to nearby Wallangarra on the Queensland border, connecting Sydney and Brisbane, with a break-of-gauge at Wallangarra. When the rail link to the Queensland border was completed, Sydney and Brisbane were linked by rail for the first time. The railway was subsequently bypassed by the fully standard gauge North Coast line between Sydney and Brisbane, completed in 1932. The Main North line north of Armidale was closed in February 1975 and the Tenterfield railway station is now a museum.
Sir Henry Parkes delivered his Federation Speech here in the Tenterfield School of Arts on 24 October 1889. He was travelling from Brisbane to Sydney, via the new Main North railway. The speech is credited with re-igniting the debate that ultimately leading to Federation on 1 January 1901.
During World War II Tenterfield was earmarked as a key battleground if the Japanese should invade Australia. During 1942 thousands of soldiers were set up in emergency camps, unbeknown to the locals, to cope with such an event. Overgrown tanks traps and gun emplacements can still be seen on the Travelling Stock Route near the New England Highway. The highway was until the early 1950s the only all-weather road from Sydney to Brisbane.In 1914 the road was declared a main road of New South Wales and named the Hume Highway in 1928. The highway eventually bypassed Gundagai in 1977 with the opening of the Sheahan Bridge.

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