Dorrigo (Dorrigo)
Dorrigo, a small town on the Waterfall Way, is located on the Northern Tablelands, in northern New South Wales, Australia. The town is part of Bellingen local government area.
It is approximately 580 km north of the state capital, Sydney via the Pacific Highway, and 64 km west from the coastal city of Coffs Harbour. The town is situated on the Dorrigo Plateau near the New England Escarpment, which is part of the Great Dividing Range. Dorrigo is 731 m above sea level. At the 2016 census, Dorrigo had a population of 1,042 people.
The area now known as Dorrigo lies on the traditional land of the Gumbainggir people.
European settlement of the area followed on from the early timber cutters in the 1860s. The first official European in the district was Land Commissioner Oakes who sighted the mouth of the Bellinger River.
Dorrigo is derived from the Aboriginal word, dondorrigo or Dandarrga, meaning "stringy-bark". For many decades it was believed that explorer and settler Major Edward Parke named the region after a Spanish General named Don Dorrigo with whom Parke fought in the Peninsula War.
By 1841, timber cutters had entered the Bellinger River searching for red cedar (Toona australis). They set up camps and moved from one stand of trees to the next.
Richard Craig, an escaped convict from the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, was the first European to reach the Dorrigo Plateau, following the traditional indigenous route to Armidale from the Grafton area. Using his skills as a horseman, Craig travelled along the western side of the Nymboida River. Craig's track became a road, now roughly following the same path as the present Grafton to Armidale Road and travelling through the present day villages of Nymboida, Billy's Creek, Dundurrabin, Tyringham and Ebor. Timbergetters followed Craig through the sub tropical rainforest and many sawmills grew due to demand for timber, initially the highly prized Australian Red Cedar (Toona australis).
Today, the main access road traversing the plateau from east to west is the Waterfall Way. It was not until the 1860s that permanent settlement occurred in the district. The dairy industry became a mainstay of the Dorrigo Plateau and today tourism is becoming more important. On 23 December 1924, the Glenreagh to Dorrigo railway opened. Due to flood damage, the line closed on 28 October 1972.
On 31 October 2005, sixty-eight dairy cows, all in full milk, died on a farm at Fernbrook on the Waterfall Way near Dorrigo after being struck by lightning. Three others were paralysed for several hours but they later made a full recovery. The cows were sheltering under a tree when it was struck by lightning and the electricity spread onto the surrounding soil killing the animals.
It is approximately 580 km north of the state capital, Sydney via the Pacific Highway, and 64 km west from the coastal city of Coffs Harbour. The town is situated on the Dorrigo Plateau near the New England Escarpment, which is part of the Great Dividing Range. Dorrigo is 731 m above sea level. At the 2016 census, Dorrigo had a population of 1,042 people.
The area now known as Dorrigo lies on the traditional land of the Gumbainggir people.
European settlement of the area followed on from the early timber cutters in the 1860s. The first official European in the district was Land Commissioner Oakes who sighted the mouth of the Bellinger River.
Dorrigo is derived from the Aboriginal word, dondorrigo or Dandarrga, meaning "stringy-bark". For many decades it was believed that explorer and settler Major Edward Parke named the region after a Spanish General named Don Dorrigo with whom Parke fought in the Peninsula War.
By 1841, timber cutters had entered the Bellinger River searching for red cedar (Toona australis). They set up camps and moved from one stand of trees to the next.
Richard Craig, an escaped convict from the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, was the first European to reach the Dorrigo Plateau, following the traditional indigenous route to Armidale from the Grafton area. Using his skills as a horseman, Craig travelled along the western side of the Nymboida River. Craig's track became a road, now roughly following the same path as the present Grafton to Armidale Road and travelling through the present day villages of Nymboida, Billy's Creek, Dundurrabin, Tyringham and Ebor. Timbergetters followed Craig through the sub tropical rainforest and many sawmills grew due to demand for timber, initially the highly prized Australian Red Cedar (Toona australis).
Today, the main access road traversing the plateau from east to west is the Waterfall Way. It was not until the 1860s that permanent settlement occurred in the district. The dairy industry became a mainstay of the Dorrigo Plateau and today tourism is becoming more important. On 23 December 1924, the Glenreagh to Dorrigo railway opened. Due to flood damage, the line closed on 28 October 1972.
On 31 October 2005, sixty-eight dairy cows, all in full milk, died on a farm at Fernbrook on the Waterfall Way near Dorrigo after being struck by lightning. Three others were paralysed for several hours but they later made a full recovery. The cows were sheltering under a tree when it was struck by lightning and the electricity spread onto the surrounding soil killing the animals.
Map - Dorrigo (Dorrigo)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |