Guide to Murwillumbah New South Wales Australia

Murwillumbah is a town of about 10,000 people on the Tweed River, half an hour inland from Tweed Heads. Cane fields surround it, and the great volcanic plug of Wollumbin (Mount Warning) fills the skyline to the south-west.

For years it was a place people drove through on the way to the hills. A fine gallery, a growing food scene and the rail trail have made it a destination in its own right.

Known For

• Tweed Regional Gallery and the Margaret Olley Art Centre
• The start of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail
• An Art Deco main street beneath Wollumbin

Things To Do in Murwillumbah

Tweed Regional Gallery

The gallery sits on a hill south of town with a sweeping view of the valley. Its Margaret Olley Art Centre re-creates rooms of the painter’s Sydney home, complete with her clutter. It is open Wednesday to Sunday and entry is free.

Northern Rivers Rail Trail

The old railway station is the trailhead for a 24-kilometre sealed and gravel path to Crabbes Creek, through Stokers Siding, Burringbar and Mooball, with bridges and two tunnels on the way. Bikes can be hired in town.

The Town

Much of the centre was rebuilt in Art Deco style after a fire in 1907 and later floods. Walk Main Street and Wharf Street for cafes, galleries and second-hand shops, and visit the Tweed Regional Museum for local history.

The Tweed Valley

Murwillumbah is the base for drives to Uki, Tyalgum, Chillingham and the river village of Tumbulgum. The summit track on Wollumbin has been closed for some years; see the Mount Warning page.

Where To Stay

Murwillumbah has several motels, a caravan park by the river and rooms in heritage pubs, among them the pink-painted Imperial Hotel in the main street.

The hills around town have guesthouses, farm stays and rainforest retreats.

Eat & Drink

The town centre has good cafes, bakeries and a couple of well-regarded restaurants, and the old pubs serve counter meals. A farmers’ market is held at the showground on Wednesday mornings.

History

The Tweed is the country of the Bundjalung people. Cedar getters arrived in the 1840s, sugar followed in the 1870s, and the railway from Lismore reached Murwillumbah in 1894; it closed in 2004 and is now the rail trail. The town has been flooded many times, most seriously in 2017 and 2022.

Getting to Murwillumbah

Murwillumbah is just off the Pacific Motorway, 30 minutes from Tweed Heads and Gold Coast Airport and about 45 minutes from Byron Bay.