Tamworth ( ) is a major regional city and administrative centre of the north-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest and most populated city in the region, with a population of 43,874 in 2021, making it the third largest inland city in New South Wales. Tamworth is from the Queensland border and is located almost midway between Brisbane and Sydney.

The city is known as the "First Town of Lights", being the first place in Australia to use electric street lights in 1888. Tamworth is also famous as the "Country Music Capital of Australia" and "Australia's answer to Nashville", annually hosting the Tamworth Country Music Festival in late January; the second-biggest country music festival in the world after Nashville. The city is recognised as the National Equine Capital of AustraliaAustralian Traveller Retrieved on 31 March 2009 because of the high number of equine events held in the city and the construction of the world-class Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre, the biggest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.Explore Australia 2002, 20th edition, Viking

History The Kamilaroi people, from whose language comes the word "budgerigar", inhabited the area before European contact. In 1818, John Oxley passed through the Peel Valley and commented, "it would be impossible to find a finer or more luxuriant country than its waters...No place in this world can afford more advantages to the industrious settler than this extensive vale". In 1831, the first sheep stations and cattle stations were formed, and in the same year, the Australian Agricultural Company was granted a lease of of land at Goonoo Goonoo, south of the present location of Tamworth, extending to present-day Calala.

In the 1830s, a company town began to develop on the Peel's southwest bank, the present site of West Tamworth. In 1850, a public town was gazetted on the opposite side of the river from the existing settlement. This town became the main town, called "Tamworth" after Tamworth, Staffordshire, represented at the time in parliament by Robert Peel. The town prospered, and was reached by the railway in 1878. The first streetlights used in Australia were commercially owned in Waratah Tasmania in 1886,McFie, H. H. (2002), "Duck Reach – The First Significant Hydro-Electric Development in Australasia", Proc. 6th National Conference on Engineering Heritage, Hobart but on 9 November 1888, Tamworth became the first location in Australia to have electric street lighting powered by a municipally owned power station, giving the town the title of "First Town of Light".

Gaol history The first record of correctional facilities being established in Tamworth was on 17 December 1864 when the local Police Magistrate was appointed as the Visiting Justice at the Tamworth Gaol. A gaoler and sheriff were appointed in 1868. At the commencement of 1920, there were 11 prisoners detained. During that year, 201 prisoners were received with 183 discharged leaving 29 in prison by 31 December 1920. Almost 20 per cent of the prisoners were aged under 21 years. The Tamworth Gaol ceased to exist on 25 March 1943, and this was ratified by a proclamation from 8 April 1943.

Prior to its opening as an adult male correctional centre in 1991, the facility (known variously as the Tamworth Institution for Boys, the Tamworth Boys' Home, and Endeavour House) was a male juvenile justice centre that pre–dated the establishment of the Kariong Youth Correctional Centre which opened in September 1991.

Timeline 1818 – Explorer John Oxley passes through the area on his exploration mission. Names the river that now runs through the town: Peel River, after British Prime Minister Robert Peel. 1831 – First sheep and cattle stations, namely Joseph Brown's 'Wallamoul' and William Dangar's 'Waldoo'. The exploring expedition led by Major Mitchell visited 'Wallamoul' in December 1831 on its way to the north-west. 1834 – 6000 sheep of the Australian Agriculture Company were the first to be brought to the Tamworth region. 1851 – The white population of the village of Tamworth was 254. 1852 – John Barnes built the Royal Oak Hotel. 1861 – Population 543 1866 – Tamworth Mechanics' Institute opened. 1882 – Tamworth railway station opened. 1883 – Tamworth base hospital opened. 1888 – Power station opened and enables the beginning of electric street lighting. The first electric streetlights in Australia. 1918 – A pedestal is unveiled as a memorial to the discovery of Tamworth district. 1926 – An anchor from the HM survey ship Sealark is erected on the pedestal. 1935 – Radio 2TM began broadcasting. Tamworth's first radio station. 1946 – Proclaimed a town. 1947 – East-West Airlines was established in Tamworth, flying Tamworth to Sydney. 1947 – Institution for Boys home for criminal youth opened.35 violent deaths linked to 'school for killers', ABC News, 14 December 2011. 1973 – The first Australasian Country Music Festival was hosted in Tamworth by radio station 2TM, which has led to the extraordinary success of the Tamworth Country Music Festival that is held every year in Summer, at the end of January, a celebration that runs continuously for 11 days. 1984 – Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council incorporated under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983. 1988 – A country music icon, the tall Golden Guitar is erected as a symbol of the town's country music roots. 1990s – The Local Council embarks on a successful campaign of urban and streetscape renewal, including the greening of Peel Street. 1999 – Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre is opened. 2004 – A new local government area, Tamworth Regional Council, is formed from Tamworth town, Manilla Shire and parts of Parry, Nundle and Barraba Shires. 2006 – In December the Tamworth Regional Council voted 6 to 3 against an offer from the Federal Government to take part in a one-year trial rural refugee resettlement programme; the majority of these refugees would be Sudanese escaping civil war in their homeland. Mayor of Tamworth, James Treloar, argued that the refugees being resettled were potentially diseased and criminal.You're not welcome, town tells refugees Sydney Morning Herald The decision resulted in national and international media attention on the town. The public outrage unleashed by his comments and the summary decision to reject the refugees forced a reversal of the bill one month later, and Tamworth took part in the resettling program.Tamworth rethinks refugee settlement scheme , ABC News Online 2008 – The Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre opened in September. 2016 – Tamworth hosted the annual City vs Country Origin rugby league match at Scully Park Regional Sporting Precinct. 2020 – Tamworth became the New Zealand Warriors Temporary Training and Isolation facility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Geography Tamworth is located on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, on the banks of the Peel River, about north of Sydney on the New England Highway, and inland from Port Macquarie on the Oxley Highway. The city is situated at a narrow point on the Peel River floodplain, nestled at the base of the Wentworth Mounds, a spur of the Moonbi Range, where the Northwest Slopes rise to the Northern Tablelands. The elevation is around AHD. The Peel River runs southeast to northwest through Tamworth. The main city centre is on the northeast bank, between the river and the Wentworth Mounds, which rise to heights of , towering over the city. The southwest bank is much flatter, and the city's suburbs sprawl to the south. Water for residents and the town's industry is supplied by Chaffey Dam, south east of the city.

Urban Tamworth occupies an area of as of 2016. The Tamworth Regional Council area encompasses the suburbs, towns, villages and rural localities of Appleby, Attunga, Banoon, Barraba (part), Barry, Bective, Bendemeer, Bithramere, Borah Creek, Bowling Alley Point, Bundarra (part), Calala, Crawney (part), Daruka, Duncans Creek, Dungowan, Duri, East Tamworth, Garoo, Garthowen, Gidley, Goonoo Goonoo, Gowrie, Gulf Creek (part), Halls Creek, Hallsville, Hanging Rock, Hillvue, Ironbark, Kentucky (part), Kingswood, Klori, Kootingal, Limbri, Lindesay, Longarm, Loomberah, Manilla, Mayvale, Moonbi, Moore Creek, Mulla Creek, Namoi River, Nemingha, New Mexico, Niangala (part), North Tamworth, Nundle, Ogunbil, Oxley Vale, Piallamore, Red Hill, Retreat, Rushes Creek, Somerton, South Tamworth, Taminda, Tamworth, Thirloene, Timbumburi, Tintinhull, Upper Horton (part), Upper Manilla, Wallamore, Warrabah, Warral, Watsons Creek, Weabonga, West Tamworth, Westdale, Wimborne, Winton, Wongo Creek, Woodsreef, Woolbrook (part) and Woolomin.

Climate Tamworth has a subtropical climate with hot summers and relatively cool winters. It is included in the rainfall records and weather forecast region of the North West SlopesWeather, The Land newspaper, 2009-10-29, Rural Press, North Richmond, NSW or the North West Slopes and Plains division of the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts.New South Wales Forecast Areas Map . Retrieved 27 January 2010. Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, Tamworth has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

Temperatures exceed on around 20–25 days a year, but over the past few years have exceeded this number substantially. The average maximum temperature in summer is , and the average minimum approximately , the mean annual rainfall is . Winters are mild and sometimes even warm by day, and cool to cold by night. Daytime temperatures average around and occasionally make it to 20, and overnight minima average . On 12 January 2013, Tamworth recorded a new record maximum of , eclipsing the previous record by 0.5 of a degree, but only a year later, on 3 January 2014, this record was broken by almost 3 degrees, with a new record maximum of . This record has since been broken with a maximum of recorded, during a significant heatwave, on 12 February 2017.February 2017 Daily Weather Observations. Retrieved 14 February 2017.

Rainfall is experienced all year round, with summer storms providing occasional heavy downpours. Tamworth's rainy season, in the early months of a new year (particularly January) can result in major flooding. Snow is very rare in Tamworth, but does occasionally occur in the surrounding higher villages such as Nundle (although far from reliable). Frosts are frequent and often severe. On 28 and 29 November 2008, Tamworth, Gunnedah, and the surrounding area received torrential rain that caused severe flooding and led to the area being declared a natural disaster area.Walcha News, "Flood clean up", 11 December 2008

Demographics

According to the 2021 census of Population, 43,874 people were in Tamworth urban area. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 14.1% of the population. About 82.9% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were the Philippines 1.2%, England 1.1%, India 1.1%, Vietnam 0.8%, and New Zealand 0.7%. Around 85.1% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.0%, Vietnamese 0.8%, Tagalog 0.6%, Punjabi 0.5%, and Nepali 0.5%. The most common responses for religion were no religion 32.2%, Anglican 22.0%, and Catholic 21.9%.

Around 89.5% of Tamworth were working in 2021. At the 2021 census, the industry sector in Tamworth with the most employees was Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) with 6.1% of the workforce.

Population for Tamworth Urban Area.

Suburbs

City Calala East Tamworth Hills Plains Hillvue Kingswood Nemingha North Tamworth Oxley Vale South Tamworth Taminda (Tamworth Industrial Area) Tamworth Central Business District Westdale West Tamworth

Satellite suburbs Daruka Estate Duri Hallsville Kootingal Moore Creek Piallamore Tintinhull Dungowan

Central business district