100 Best Towns In Australia #57 Tamworth, NSW

Famous for being the Australian Country Music Capital, Tamworth doesn’t just make the Top 100 for its musical notoriety (although, come on, even the Visitor Centre is shaped like a massive guitar), but for its history and progressiveness.

“A town with more Australian country music culture than the rest of Oz combined.” – MyPOWER Team

Its Australian Country Music Festival attracts 50,000 each January and, like all good Australian towns, Tamworth features an oversized attraction, but others will struggle to compete with the Big Gold Guitar, unveiled by the king of country himself, Slim Dusty. Beyond music, Tamworth is recognised as the National Equine Capital of Australia and is home to the new, world-class Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (the biggest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere).

Buildings and landmarks like the old railway station, Britten’s Brewery and Moonbi School act as mini-museums for the 150 years of town history. Today, boutique wineries, a growing retail industry and a bustling city centre paint the picture of a flourishing, vibrant town.

Where? // 400km (5hrs) north of Sydney.

Did you know? // Tamworth is the “First City of Lights” as it was the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to use electric streetlights in 1888 (marked by The Powerstation Museum, also home to a collection of over 50 motorcycles from the 1950s-1980s).