NSWFarming
Murwillumbah
Cedar boats and cane mills built a town on the Tweed.
1872Townsite surveyed · cedar and sugar centre
WHAT STARTED IT
Cedar cutters opened the Tweed hinterland, while navigable river reaches allowed timber and farm produce to move to the coast. Sugar cane and the Condong mill then made Murwillumbah the valley’s commercial centre.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The townsite was surveyed in 1872. Rail from Lismore arrived in 1894 and terminated here; a 1907 fire forced much of the business centre to be rebuilt. Dairying and bananas later joined sugar.
TURNING POINTS
1872Townsite surveyed.
1880Condong sugar mill begins.
1894North Coast railway reaches town.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The Tweed Valley’s inland service and arts centre, surrounded by cane land and rainforest ranges and still vulnerable to major river floods.