Explore the ‘country music capital of Australia’, the ‘equestrian capital of Australia’ and the ‘First City of Lights’ when you fly into Tamworth Airport.
Daily flights from Sydney and Brisbane land here, just 15 minutes’ drive from the centre of Tamworth, a fast-growing city of 62,000 people. Pick up your Hertz hire car at Tamworth Airport and get ready to enjoy yourself.
Tamworth, located on the Peel River, is the buzzing heart of the New England region. Its mixed economy of agriculture, aviation, education, transport and retail has spurred it to a population growth of over 1% every year over the last ten years.
Tamworth was officially founded in 1850 on land occupied by the Indigenous Gamilaroi people. Its nickname, ‘The First City of Lights’, derives from the fact that in 1888, it became the first town in Australia to install streetlights powered by public electricity. You can find out more about this fascinating story with a visit to the Tamworth Power Station Museum.
Today, the city is well known for the 10-day Tamworth Country Music Festival which is held in January every year and culminates in the Golden Guitar Awards. If you can’t make the festival, you can still see the 12-metre-tall golden guitar at the Big Golden Guitar Tourist Centre and the Hands of Fame Park, which contains the palm prints of more than 300 country music artists.
Further afield, Warrabah National Park and Nowendoc National Park are both two hours’ drive from Tamworth Airport. Bushwalk in these beautiful landscapes and cool off with a swim in creeks and waterfalls.
