Wednesday July 17th to Sunday, July 28th, 2024 - Murwillumbah

The Austral Cafe, Murwillumbah, Built 1919

Because it's off the train line and away from the coast, this little town of about 10,000 people has escaped being on the tourist radar, which has left it largely untouched from the starkly obvious modern 'improvements' that are often developed to encourage visitors. Although right on the Tweed River, the northern part of town is hilly, dominated by 'Hospital Hill', where I stayed in a lovely AirBNB.

Murwillumbah District Hospital

 This local hospital at the top of 'Hospital Hill' was established in 1905, and still faithfully serves the community. It is a place of consequence to my mother's family, as her father served on the Hospital Board in the mid 1930's and hopefully had input into the lovely art deco design of this building which was opened in 1939. In the event anyone wants to do a deep dive into that story, here's a link.

https://www.murwillumbahhistoricalsociety.org.au/timelines/202004%20and%20202007%20Final.pdf

To access the vast range of modern, highly technical medical services, people need to go to the newly built regional hospital on the coast, but this old building still plays a valuable role in local medical care.

The Imperial Hotel, Built 1931

My first night in Murwillumbah was spent at the Imperial Hotel, which is one of the oldest hotels in the Tweed Valley. (I messed up my schedule when booking my AirBNB.) It has recently been refurbished to highlight its art deco style, which is typical of many of the older buildings in Murwillumbah. (There are not many newer buildings in the town center - modernization is not on the radar yet.)

Etched Glass Doors in The Imperial Hotel

I especially liked the etched glass doors which separated the dining side of the establishment from the bar. According to Google, women were not allowed in pubs in Australia until the 1970's and children are still not free to go into pubs unless they're accompanied by an adult and eating a meal. As a child I remember times that we had to 'sit it out' in a lounge while Mum and Dad had a drink when we traveled. In the Imperial Hotel, there was a distinct separation between the dining area and the bar, delineated by this beautiful set of doors. One could bring drinks to enjoy with a meal, but food wasn't taken into the bar - perhaps hearkening back to the days of trying to keep 'decent' people (i.e. women & children) out of the place where the 'swill' was happening. (Laws trying to restrict drinking in the 50's, led to men trying to shove in as much as they could in a short time, usually on the way home from work.) It was not at all unusual for pubs to be completely tiled. In the photo you can see the nicely redecorated floor in black and white tile, which is true to the original style. The tile made it easy to wash down spilled beer and other fluids that ended up on the floor from serious drinking. 

Sidewalk 'Medallion'

Another peculiarity of delineation I almost tripped over, were these little, rather pretty, brass plaques bolted into the sidewalk in Murwillumbah. They are the council's way of letting shop owners know how far their business can protrude onto the pathway with promotional stands, or sidewalk tables etc. I know of some Asian cities that could borrow this strategy! It was generally about 6 feet away from their door, still leaving plenty of room for people to walk.

Happy Cows From Tweed Valley Whey

The first people to live in this area were called the Kalibai people, an Aboriginal tribe. It is thought the name Murwillumbah comes from their language and either means 'camping place', or 'big possum'. Take your pick! The first white settlers began to appear in the area in the 1840's, and Murwillumbah was fist surveyed in the late 1860's. It was the growing and refining of sugar that drew settlers here and after refrigeration was developed, dairy farming. Bananas were also an important crop and an annual banana festival is held here in August. It was a banana plot granted through the post-WWI soldier-settlement scheme that drew my grandfather here in 1919. With high hopes, he married my grandmother in 1921.

Photo from Mum's Archives - Don't Know Who

Things didn't go well on his settlement due to 'bunchy top' destroying the crop, leading to he and my grandmother walking off the farm penniless. Happily, he didn't give up, and in spite of his next attempt at sugar-growing also being a failure, he returned to bananas, became a successful producer and helped initiate research that eliminated the bunchy top parasite. I don't know if the photo above is the failed crop, or a later successful one - but the plants definitely need to grow quite a bit before there'll be any bananas. Makes one appreciate that life must have been tough!

Court House, Built 1909

By 1888 there were 23 buildings in Murwillumbah, but the majority of them were destroyed by a fire in 1907. This courthouse is a design that represents Federation architecture - I thought is was quite unusual. It was built to replace the original court house after the fire of 1907 pretty much destroyed the town.

Court House, Built 1909 - Unusual Side Entrance

I thought it was unusual to have entrances to the building on the sides, while the solid, featureless brick wall faces the street. Maybe one side was for the prosecution, the other for the defense?

Police Station, Built 1909

Next to the court house is the police station, which has the feel of a building that ought to be in a TV detective series. It is also described as Federation architecture and was also the replacement of a building that was destroyed in the 1907 fire. It served as a residence for whoever was appointed to watch over the 'gaol' (Australian spelling for 'jail').

Typical Facades, Murwillumbah Street

One has to look up from the opposite side of the street to see the rather lovely facades on some of the stores. The typical overhang prevents one seeing interesting details on the 2nd floor often art deco details like the green one here.

One Facade Restored, The Others Original, Murwillumbah St

These three businesses have the same façade - the pharmacy on the left has gussied up theirs with nice new paint, the other two look original. I'm hard pressed to tell you which I like better, but if the town becomes trendy I'm sure there'll be a lot more 'gussying' going on!

Public Toilet, Corner Church Lane & Queen Street

It's a bit peculiar to include a public toilet in a list of interesting buildings, but I have always been amused by this very fashionable design from times past with the tiled, semi-circular wall in front. I think it's too new for art deco, but it is a very noble attempt to create a stylish building for this basic function! Sadly it is closed now - like one over the river it is probably due to the 2022 flood.

Former Salvation Army Citadel, Built 1920

You know I could give you more examples, because they are dotted all over, but I'll cut you some slack and leave it here with this rather lovely, well preserved former Salvation Army Citadel, built 1920. It now serves as a theatre.

15 Passionfruit From Bray Park Produce Stand - only AUD $3!

One of the greatest excitements from my stay in Murwillumbah (other than visiting my sister and Aunt) was finding this fruit stand that was selling their passionfruit - 15 of them for only 3 Australian dollars. Passionfruit haven't caught on in the United States and I miss their sweet, crunchy deliciousness. The only place I have ever found them near me in the US is at Harris Teeter, where I have seen them selling for 3 US dollars each. Now if you do the math and convert the exchange rate, this means I got USD $45 worth of these delights for USD $2. I could probably pay for my trip if I shipped a truck load home.

Passionfruit After a Few Days of Ripening

The ones I bought were not quite ripe yet, so I left them in the sun and they got this lovely wrinkly, deeper purple color fairly quickly. And here's the tip for my American friends - you can try to convince the produce manager at Harris Teeter, that their produce has gone bad and ask for a discount, because they're no good. The produce manager doesn't know the difference! (Shh - don't tell him!)

Inside of a Passionfruit

The good news is that the wrinkly ones are good, as you see here. I have to confess I might have ripened it a bit too long - they don't go bad - just dry out. You can see some of the seeds have lost their color on the right hand side. They can be refrigerated to stop them ripening. I scoop all the pulp and seeds onto my cereal with a banana and really enjoyed this tasty (cheap) treat while I was here.

Madura Tea Plantation

As many of you know, I also love my tea and usually have it shipped from this small tea plantation a short distance from Murwillumbah, called Madura Tea. I met the two women who actually process my order, so it was fun to reveal the face of their 'Floridian' customer. One of them actually knew my aunt, so now she knows of my local connection. It was fun to see their nice new showroom.

Rows of Tea Bushes at Madura Tea Plantation

Unfortunately, the plantation itself was closed to visitors on this day, so I wasn't able to wander around. They don't grow all their tea here, some of it is imported, but they had expanded their acreage since I was last here. I love the orderliness and 'clean cut' look of tea plantations and was sorry I couldn't wander. 

Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre

Muwillumbah boasts a very excellent small art gallery less than two miles from town. There is an infrequent bus, but it is within walking distance and an easy biking distance along the newly completed Rail Trail. Not only is the gallery free, it offers changing exhibits and offers one of the best views of the Tweed Valley and Wollumbin (Mt, Warning).

The Grand Impedimanta by Tim Storrier

My favorite piece of art work at the gallery was this interesting statue on the west side, overlooking a beautiful vista. The notice next to it said it references the role of artist as explorer, with all his/her necessities strewn around the body and paint palette in hand. Of course, I was intrigued that the figure was faceless, with the glasses perched in mid-air. I could certainly relate to this person, only I would have to replace the palette with a camera and my laptop!

Rail Trail, Murwillumbah

I thoroughly enjoyed wandering home from the gallery on my last evening, along the Rail Trail.

Children Enjoying the Rail Trail

The conversion of the old rail line into a riding/walking trail was not popular with all the locals. Many still hoped that train service would be returned to the town. However, the trail was being well used by walkers, joggers and cyclists. Some had their dogs, their families - others looked pretty serious about their exercise! These kids were throwing rocks into a stream - a timeless occupation.

The Sun Sets - Time is Up

My time here was up - it was time to say goodbye to my aunt and sister. We all felt another visit will not be too far away. I really loved being in this lovely place.