NSWFarming
Tamworth
A company settlement on one bank, a government town on the other.
1834Australian Agricultural Company buildings erected
WHAT STARTED IT
The Australian Agricultural Company established buildings beside the Peel River for its employees, stores and assigned convicts. Shops and hotels followed to serve them, while a separate government township developed across the river.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Government blocks were sold from 1850. Railway expansion in the 1880s brought a building boom. In 1888 Tamworth became Australia’s first town or city to introduce electric street lighting, long before its country music identity developed.
TURNING POINTS
1834Company buildings are erected.
1850Government town blocks are sold.
1888Electric street lights are switched on.
1988The 12-metre Golden Guitar was erected, giving the country-music city a new roadside landmark.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A regional service city with a farming hinterland and a prominent country music identity. The Powerstation Museum tells the story of its early lighting scheme.