Tweed Shire Profile

Tweed Shire covers 1303 square kilometres and adjoins the NSW shires of Byron, Lismore and Kyogle, with the NSW/Queensland border to its north where it divides the twin towns of Tweed Heads and Coolangatta.

With 37 kms of natural coastline, wetlands and estuarine forests, lush pastoral and farm land, the entire basin of the Tweed River, and mountainous regions containing three world-heritage listed national parks, Tweed boasts a unique and diverse environment.

Centrepiece of the Shire is Mount Warning, where the sun first hits the Australian continent. The surrounding McPherson, Tweed, Burringbar and Nightcap ranges form the caldera of the fertile Tweed Valley.

Prior to European settlement, the area was blanketed in sub-tropical forest and was home to the Bundjalung people. Many of the Shire's towns and villages derive their names from the language of those Aborigines.

The area was settled by timber-getters around 1844; the first school opened in 1871; and by the 1890's, the river port of Tumbulgum was the centre of population. The focus moved to Murwillumbah when the first Local Government municipality was declared in 1902. The Tweed Shire, which amalgamated the Municipality of Murwillumbah  and Shire of Tweed, was declared in 1947.

Today in excess of 80,000 people live in Tweed, scattered through 17 villages, two towns, and the major urban areas of Tweed Heads and South Tweed. The last twenty years have seen enormous growth, with the population increasing, on average, approx. 1.9% per year between the 1996 census and the 2001 census, largely due to southern retirees drawn by the temperate climate and relaxed lifestyle.

The retail, hospitality, agricultural and tourism industries are major employers, while construction, fishing, and light industry are other significant contributors to the local economy.

History

Captain James Cook identified and named two of Tweed Shire's most prominent features, Mount Warning (Aboriginal Wollumbin) and Point Danger (Aboriginal area of Pooningbah), in 1770. The aborigines of the Tweed were not particularly nomadic, having no need to travel for hunting or food-gathering. Their tribes had almost died out by the turn of this century.

Area

Geographic Area: 1303 sq km
Council Budget $140 million

Rateable Properties 34,000

Time Zone: Eastern Standard and Daylight Savings (October to March).

Electorates: State - Tweed; Neville Newell, MP.
Federal - Richmond; Justine Elliot, MP.

Schools

• 5 community run and numerous private facilities for pre-school age children.
• 25 state primary schools.
• 10 private primary schools.
• 5 state high schools.
• 4 private high schools.
• 3 TAFE centres located at Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah and Kingscliff.
• Universities located at Tweed Heads, Lismore and the Gold Coast.

Health

Public hospitals are located in Tweed Heads and Murwillumbah. Council runs childhood immunisation clinics each month.

Libraries

Three libraries in Tweed Heads, Kingscliff, Murwillumbah.

Art Gallery

The Tweed River Regional Art Gallery.

Beaches

34km; Surf Life Savings Clubs at Cabarita Beach, Fingal Head, Cudgen Headland, Pottsville and Salt.  Tweed Shire Council manages Caravans Parks along the coast, located, from north to south, at Boyd's Bay, Fingal Head, Kingscliff North, Kingscliff South, Hastings Point, Pottsville North and Pottsville South.

National Parks

Tweed is home to the world-heritage listed National Parks of Mt Warning, the Nightcap Ranges, the Border Ranges and a portion of Lamington National Park.

Transport

Gold Coast Airport; local, inter- and intrastate coach services..

The above information is taken with kind permission from www.tweed.nsw.gov.au