Tenterfield  New South Wales

The late lamented Peter Allen might have catapulted his old home town on to the international pop charts with his haunting tribute to his saddler grandfather, but the name of Tenterfield had already been indelibly etched into the pages of history. In 1889, NSW Premier Sir Henry Parkes chose his old electorate of Tenterfield in New England to make his famous speech which galvanised the push for Federation. Tenterfield also has close links with Banjo (Waltzing Matilda) Paterson, who wooed and won local grazier's daughter Bessie Walker on romantic picnics beside the beautiful Boonoo Boonoo Falls in the shadow of mighty Bald Rock in a nearby national park. Sitting astride the Great Dividing Range, Tenterfield is a delightful old border town rich not only in history but in magnificently rugged scenery preserved in a chain of large national parks and heritage trails. You can get a stunning overview of the town and a feel for this high country region by taking the Granite Drive - a 30km scenic circuit which includes stop-offs at the fittingly named Ghost Gully and Bluff Rock.

Find out more about the New England region.