Palm trees and the Commercial Hotel in the main street

 

Mullumbimby
Famous hippie township which mixes mainstream and alternative lifestyles.
Mullumbimby is a quiet country township which was once a rural centre servicing the surrounding farms. In the late 1960s it became one of the great alternative lifestyle centres in the country. It carries this reputation with much more confidence than its more famous partner, Nimbin, which is only a short distance away.

In the lexicon of names which can be used to conjure up images of hippies and psychedelic colours Mullumbimby is second only to Nimbin. Ironically today the town bears few signs of the lifestyle which invaded it in the early 1970s. There are no brightly-coloured shop fronts like Nimbin; there are no young kids up from Sydney looking for drugs and fun.

Mullumbimby is located 4 km off the Pacific Highway, 798 km north-east of Sydney, 19 km north-west of Byron Bay and 165 km south of Brisbane. It is situated on the Brunswick River at 4 metres above sea-level and had a population, in 1996, of 2870 people. Tourism is important to the local economy in a region which is noted for its production of bananas, avocados, pineapples and other tropical fruit, dairy products, macadamia nuts, cattle, pigs and timber.

The town's name is thought to derive from the language of the Bundjalung people with 'muli' said to mean 'hill'. The full name has been interpreted as meaning 'small round hill' - a reference to Mt Chincogan (309 m), beneath which the town is situated.

The first European to explore the Brunswick River was Captain Henry Rous, in 1828. He named it after the wife of George IV - Queen Caroline of Brunswick. Timbergetters exploited the trees along the riverbanks from the 1850s and a townsite was reserved in 1872 near a river crossing. A school opened in 1886 to serve local families. The townsite was surveyed in 1887 and the village was proclaimed the following year. A post office opened in 1889. When the railway arrived in 1894 dairying and agriculture took off and the town prospered, acquiring its own municipal government in 1908. The fertile river flats and subtropical climate also proved ideal for the cultivation of bananas and other tropical fruits.

 

The Yellow Church Yoga and Natural Therapy Centre

 

A weir was built on Wilsons Creek in the 1920s. It supplied both the town's water supply and a hydro-electric power station which also serviced Bangalow and Byron Bay.

The Mullumbimby Chincogan Fiesta, held each year in September, centres on a foot-race from the post office to the top of Mt Chincogan and back. The Mullumbimby markets are held in the reserve behind the Stuart Street Museum on the third Saturday of the month.

Things to see:  

Museum
Brunswick Valley Historical Society Museum is located in the former post office (1907) at the southern end of Stuart St, bordering Saltwater Creek. It is open on Friday from 11.00am - 3.00pm, on market days (3rd Saturday of each month), and at other times by arrangement.

 

Cedar House
Cedar House (1908), at 1 Dalley St, has been restored and, at its rear, is an antiques gallery. Other Dalley St buildings of some historic interest are the police station and courthouse (1908), both designed by W.L. Vernon and located near the corner with Burringbar St.

 

Brunswick Valley Heritage Park
There is a walking track through Brunswick Valley Heritage Park - a reserve where over 200 rainforest plants have been established and labelled. They include red cedars, coolamons, grevilleas, black apple, giant water gum, rosewood, flooded gum, swamp mahogany and hoop pines It is located at the corner of Tyagarah St and Brunswick Terrace, adjacent the river. There is an accompanying pamphlet which you should be able to obtain from the Lyrebird Motel. The latter functions as something of a local information centre.

 

Walking Trails
In Burringbar St, behind the post office, a noticeboard outlines the course of six walking trails. The longest leads to Pioneer Lookout (2 km).

 

Pioneer Lookout
There is a lookout off Azalea St, at the south-western corner of town.

 

Crystal Castle
Crystal Castle is located 7 km south-west of town. This fine building is perched on a hillside offering lovely views through French windows. Housed within is a display (said to be Australia's largest) of natural crystals - violet amethyst, clear and rose quartz, banded agate etc - in various forms - natural and artificial.

To get there, head south along Dalley St, turn right into Jubilee Ave and follow it out of town as it passes the golf course and winds up into the hills. When you reach the fork at the top of the hill, keep to the right. You will soon see Monet Drive on your right. Turn here and look to the left. It is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., tel: (02) 6684 3111.

 

Whian Whian State Forest
To get to Minyon Falls and Whian Whian State Forest, return along Monet Drive to the main road and turn right. Follow this road through Goonengerry. After about 8 km there is a right turn, signposted for Minyon Falls. After about four more kilometres there is another signposted turnoff on the right, into Minyon Drive (a map of the area would be helpful).

About 2 km before you reach the falls, Minyon Drive will take you past the Minyon Grass Picnic Area. A 2-km walking track leads to the base of the falls. Alternatively, continue in your car along Minyon Drive to a picnic area and recreation site by the falls which tumble 97 m down sheer cliffs, formed by solidified lava, into the beautiful gorge below. They are part of the Minyon Falls Flora Reserve which has been exempted from all logging due to its high recreational, scenic and scientific value. A board in the picnic area indicates the whereabouts of a nearby walking-trail complex. The departure track, which takes in a lookout over Minyon Falls, follows the rim of the escarpment for about 2 km around to Quandong Falls. From this point you can return to the picnic area or continue on for another 2 km to the valley floor at the base of the falls. Its quite easy going down but a steep walk back.

Return to your car. Follow the main forest drive then turn right at Peates Mountain Road. 200 m will bring you to Rummery Park, a grassy clearing amidst regrowth forest where koalas live. There are picnic and camping facilities. A relatively easy 3-km walking track leads to Peates Mountain Lookout. The Boggy Creek Track (2 km) and Eastern Boundary Track (2.5 km) both lead back to the Minyon Falls Picnic Area.

For those who wish to stick to their cars, continue along Peates Mountain Road. 3.5 km beyond Rummery Park is a signposted turnoff to a parking area and it is a 10-minute walk to Peates Mountain Lookout (600 m) which offers views southwards over rich farmlands to Lismore, northwards to Mt Warning and east to Byron Bay.

Return along Peates Mountain Road to the main forest drive which continues westwards through blackbutt and flooded gum plantations, across Rocky Creek, past the Gibbergunyah Roadside Reserve and, in the final 2 km, through the Big Scrub Flora Reserve which is the largest surviving remnant of the 'Big Scrub'.

The forest road reaches a T-intersection with a sealed road. A left turn leads directly to Rocky Creek Dam Picnic Area. However, if you wish to return to Mullumbimby, turn right at the sealed road then, at the next T-intersection, turn left.

 

Rocky Creek Dam Picnic Area
Rocky Creek Dam Picnic Area (see previous entry for directions) overlooks the associated lake with its mountainous background. As Rocky Creek is the main water supply for Lismore, fishing, swimming and boating are prohibited. There are picnic-barbecue facilities with wood supplied, a shelter shed, a playground, drinking water and walking tracks. A boardwalk leads by Platypus Lagoon.

 

Wanganui Gorge
Wanganui Gorge and Rainforest Track is 20 km west of Mullumbimby.

 

 

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Mullumbimby