Located on the New South Wales Far North Coast, the Northern Rivers Rail Trail is in the heart of a thriving region that offers visitors a kaleidoscope of activities. The main start of the Rail Trail at Murwillumbah is 36 km from Gold Coast Airport and 74 km from Ballina airport, with daily flights from all capital cities.
Starting at the heritage-listed Murwillumbah Railway Station, the open 24km Tweed section of the Rail Trail meanders gently southwards through the Tweed Valley, connecting the villages of the Tweed Valley through the rolling hills and spectacular scenery of the region.
The Tweed section features 26 bridges and 2 tunnels, including the 500m Burringbar Range tunnel which features micro-bats and glow worms. It is the first completed stage of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail, which will eventually stretch 132 km to Casino, traversing through Byron, Lismore and Richmond Valley.
You can cycle the Northern Rivers Rail Trail as part of our
self-guided tour that also explores the greater Tweed Valley.
The Tweed
Boasting 37 km of pristine coastline, verdant wetlands and forests, expansive pastoral and farmland, and the entire Tweed River basin, Tweed is a nature lover’s paradise. The mountainous regions of the area contain 3 of Australia’s World Heritage-listed national parks, adding to the region’s natural charm. It is a truly stunning region that showcases the first rays of sunshine to touch the Australian continent, centered around the breathtaking Wollumbin / Mount Warning.
Tweed is situated in one of the world’s largest natural erosion calderas, making it a truly unique destination. The area is renowned for its rich biodiversity, which is the highest in New South Wales, making it an internationally significant environment that’s perfect for exploration and discovery.
Murwillumbah
In the local Bundjalung dialect, Murwillumbah is thought to mean the place of the bleeding big nose.
In the 1880s, Tumbulgum was the principal town in the Tweed Valley with an active commercial sector. After the rail line to Lismore opened in 1894, followed by the Murwillumbah Bridge in 1901, Murwillumbah became the major centre on the Tweed.
Today over 9,000 people call Murwillumbah home and enjoy its art deco architecture, the vibrant arts community,cafes, restaurants, and boutique shops. Murwillumbah remains the centre for dairying, sugarcane and banana growing.
Dunbible
Dunbible means the black apple tree in the local Bundjalung dialect. In the late 1880s, the area was home to a very small community, predominantly farmland for dairy, pigs and cattle.
Dunbible was quite isolated, and before the railway, travel was done on horseback. The railway brought prosperous new opportunities to the area, particularly in agriculture. Cream gathered from cows in Dunbible in the morning could now arrive at the NORCO butter factory in Murwillumbah in the blink of an eye.
Today there are almost 400 community members of Dunbible and the small town features the beautiful heritage Dunbible Creek Bridge.
Stokers Siding
When the railway was constructed in 1894, Stokers Siding was known as part of Dunbible Creek. In 1903 it was renamed Stokers Siding after local landholder Joseph Stokers.
The once predominant farmland has evolved and Stokers Siding is now home to over 600 people and boasts a thriving arts community.
Stokers village has a number of popular attractions including the Community Printmakers Murwillumbah. Housed in the historic Stokers Siding Pottery Building, the community organisation is a working print studio with art gallery. The General Store/Post Office with a verandah tearoom is located in the old railway station.
The village also has a vibrant public school and is known to host regular events at the community hall known as the Stokers Siding Dunbible Memorial Hall.
Burringbar
Burringbar is thought to mean the place of the non-returning fighting boomerang in the local Bundjalung dialect.John Ewing purchased the land that is now Burringbar Village in 1888 and erected the first built structure just off the main street.
Burringbar became an overnight stay for Cobb & Co coaches, bringing mail, newspapers, and supplies from Murwillumbah and Brunswick Heads. With the railway and road development, the village became a thriving district centre and is now home to over 1,100 people.
Burringbar still retains its small village charm and is a great stop-off point with a general store and craft, along with roadside fruit stalls. A pretty park with a historic monument marks the centre of the town.
The Burringbar Range tunnel connects the villages of Stokers Siding and Burringbar. The tunnel closed to rail services in 2004 and since this time, bats and glow worms have claimed their habitat inside.
Mooball
Mooball (pronounced Mow-ball) is thought to mean big swamp, big lake, or the cane of a lawyer vine in the local Bundjalung dialect.
After European settlement, the town grew into a small farming community and now has over 190 residents. The town features the original 1930s pub and post office buildings. Mooball is a great place to stop for a coffee to rest and recharge.
You can’t move through town without missing the black and white cow prints painted on the electricity poles throughout the village.
Crabbes Creek
Crabbes Creek runs from Yelgun ridge down to Wooyung. This is a very significant area for local Bundjalung who acknowledge it as the pathway of the sun. It is where the Ancestral beings created some of the first ceremonies for all of the Bundjalung.
Crabbes Creek got its name after landholder Robert Crabbe, in the late 1800s. Before this, the local area was known as “Pimble” by the local Aboriginal people of the Moorung Moobar Clan of the Bundjalung Nation.
Sand mining, cane and dairy farming, and growing bananas were common at Crabbes Creek. The area has the distinction of having the first Macedonian Orthodox Church in Australia, built in 1949, which is still standing and is now the community hall.
Today Crabbes Creek is home to almost 300 people who form a vibrant community.
Thanks to the Northern Rivers Rail Trail team for this great article.