The Fossickers Way Visitor Guide Volume 1 | Page 22

Tenterfield
Did
you

know?
Beloved Australian poet Banjo
Paterson married his sweetheart,
local girl Alice Walker, in
Tenterfield

BALD ROCK
NATIONAL PARK
Featuring the largest exposed granite
rock in the Southern Hemisphere, a
climb to the top of Bald Rock rewards
bushwalkers with an expansive
panoramic view unequalled in the
New England Region.
At 260m above the surrounding
bushland, 750m long, 500m wide and
at close to 1300m above sea level, it
feels like a remote, ‘top of the world’
experience from the summit.
Collections of granite archways,
scattered boulders, ravines roping
their way through the terrain and a
pile of enormous, smooth granite
stones balancing strangely across
each other are all there to be
clambered among and explored by
anyone willing to make the trek.
You can opt for a gentle 2.5km
climb to the summit or, alternatively,
you can challenge yourself with a
short, but steep, climb up the face of
the rock.

22

A

quaint town tucked up
near the Queensland
border, Tenterfield
is easy on the eyes and
rich in Australiana and
nation-defining history
– from bushrangers and
wartime training through
to political speeches that
shaped our nation. This
is infamous bushranger
Captain Thunderbolt’s former
stomping ground, and his
bush hideouts are dotted in
and around town.
It was in Tenterfield that Sir
Henry Parkes gave his famous
Federation speech, so in a
sense this unassuming little
town is the birthplace of a
nation. The Sir Henry Parkes
Museum commemorates this
fact and is well worth a visit.
Tenterfield’s streets are
bursting with heritage-listed
buildings, many dating back
to the mid-19th century,
while the preservation of a
number of landmark sites,
including the Tenterfield
Saddlery, award the township

fast

facts
• Tenterfield was catapulted to
historical significance when Sir
Henry Parkes gave his famous
Federation Speech at the
Tenterfield School of Arts
• Peter ‘The Boy from Oz’ Allen
was was born in Tenterfield, and
his grandfather’