Taree, New South Wales

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Taree is a city on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 20,000 people and is the centre of a significant agricultural district. It is about 15 km from the sea coast, and about 300 km north of Sydney. Taree can be reached by train via the North Coast Railway, and by the Pacific Highway.

Taree is within the Local Government Area of the City of Greater Taree, the state electorate of Myall Lakes and the Federal electorate of Lyne.

1 Name
2 Education
3 Media
4 Tourism
5 Annual Events
6 External links

[edit] Name

The name Taree is derived for the local native Biripi word meaning tree by the river, or more specifically, the Sandpaper Fig Ficus Coronata.

Taree is also a boy and/or girl name. It has two meanings one is Japanese: Bending Branch. And the other is Aboriginal: wild fig, fruit of the wild fig, or fig tree.

[edit] Education

There are several public schools in the Taree area including Taree Public School, Taree High School, Taree West Public School, Manning Gardens Public School, Chatham Public School, Chatham High School, and Cundletown Public School.

Private schools in and around Taree include Manning District Adventist School, Tinonee, Manning River Steiner School, Manning Valley Anglican College, Cundletown, Taree Christian Community School, Kolodong, Taree Steiner School, St Joseph's Catholic School, and St Clare's High School.

Several post tertiary training facilities have a presence in Taree: the North Coast Institute of TAFE, Taree Community College, the Australian Technical College - Manning Valley Campus.

[edit] Media

The Manning River Times is based in Taree.

Prime Television, NBN Television and Southern Cross Ten all maintain sales departments in Taree.

There are four local radio stations, commercial stations 2RE and Max FM and community stations 2BOB and 2TLP.

The ABC broadcasts Triple J, ABC Classic FM, Radio National and ABC Mid North Coast [1] into Taree, and Rhema FM Manning Great Lakes broadcasts from studios in nearby Wingham. Racing Radio is also broadcast to Taree.

[edit] Tourism

Nearby towns include historic Wingham, Tinonee, and the beachside town of Old Bar.

A local tourist attraction is a building called "The World's Largest Oyster" also called "The Big Oyster". Big Things are a common form of tourist attraction in Australia. Like the Big Merino and Big Banana, the 'Oyster' is an artifact based on local produce; the Manning River produces some 3 and a half million oysters a year [2]. The Big Oyster was an unsuccessful business venture, known to the locals as a 'Big Mistake', and is now home to a motor dealership.

The Manning Entertainment Centre was built in the 1980s at great cost to the council as the cultural centre of the district. Although it seats 500 people it is too small to attract large acts. An example is that the orchestra pit is not large enough to accommodate a full symphony orchestra. This does not prevent a great variety of quality acts, including the District Eisteddfod and local amateur dramatic societies from providing great cultural outings for the local community.

Located next to the Entertainment Centre and the Visitor Information Centre at the northern entrance to Taree is the Manning Aquatic and Leisure Centre. This facility includes a 25 metre outdoor pool and a 50 metre indoor pool and soon after the time of opening had the second most expensive pool entrance fee in Australia, the most expensive being a pool in Perth, Western Australia. The Aquatic Centre was built in the late 1990s – early 2000s to replace the Taree Pool, which could no longer be used for swimming. Located next to the Manning River in the centre of town, the Taree Pool had fallen into disrepair and started leaking into the river. It is now home to the local Navy Cadets Corp.

The Manning Regional Art Gallery is located in a cottage style building next to Taree Public School. The art gallery hosts a changing selection of works by local artists and visiting exhibitions.

[edit] Annual Events

[edit] January

Events in the NSW Rowing Association Annual Pointscore Rowing Regatta are held at Endeavour Place in Taree during the third week of January. This Regatta consists of 50 races with competitors travelling from many parts of New South Wales to compete.

[edit] March

The Easter Powerboat Classic is held on the Manning River near Queen Elizabeth Park during the Easter Long Weekend. Events start on Friday morning and feature the Stuart Doyle Cup on Saturday and the Ken Warby time trials midday Saturday and Sunday.