Woodford Island

Last updated

Woodford Island
Lawrence Parish (NSW) 1886.png
Map of the Clarence River showing Woodford Island in 1886
Australia New South Wales location map blank.svg
Red pog.svg
Woodford Island
Location in New South Wales
Geography
Coordinates 29°31′S153°08′E / 29.517°S 153.133°E / -29.517; 153.133
Administration
state New South Wales
Additional information
Time zone
  Summer (DST)

Woodford Island is the largest island in the lower reaches of the Clarence River [1] in the Far-North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is formed by the Clarence River where it splits into the South Arm and North Arm at the small village of Brushgrove then reforms at the town of Maclean. The island is the largest in NSW, either inland or offshore, at 37 km2.

Contents

Access

There are three ways on and off the island, two bridges; at the southern end is the Wingfield Bridge in Brushgrove, which crosses to Cowper, and the McFarlane Bridge at the northern end, that gives access to Maclean.

There is a ferry that connects Lawrence to Woodford Dale, being the western side of the island,

Economy

Woodford Island is mostly flood plain which supports the primary industries of sugar cane and milk producing cattle. A small fishing fleet plies the Clarence River. There are a few small businesses, however, most residents travel off the island to Maclean or Grafton for goods and services.

People and geography

There are approximately 300 people living on the island. Through its almost exact centre is a mountain ridge. The rest is plains which are subjected to periodic flooding. The largest town is Brushgrove at the south of the island. It holds major aboriginal significance in the area and the aboriginal village of Ilarwill.

Woodford Island Woodford Island, New South Wales, June 2021.jpg
Woodford Island

History

Woodford Island was one of the first places inhabited by Europeans on the Far-North Coast. Original settler John Small was attracted to the abundance of Australian Redcedar.

In 1838, some 20 Bandjalung people (original inhabitants of Woodford Island) were murdered by cedar getters in a reprisal massacre. [2]

The town of Brushgrove was once a major trading hub for timber, sugar and other agriculture goods due to its location on the Clarence River. This brought tremendous wealth to area and at one time the island supported many schools, a police station, many businesses and other utilities. However, due to the development of road and train infrastructure, the town has dwindled in size over the past century.

Points of interests

Tourist drive 22 travels across the island starting at the Lawrence Car Ferry and ending at the McFarlane Bridge that enters Maclean. . [3] The bridge was named after John McFarlane local member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. [4]


The island is broken up into areas being- Woodford Dale (The last school on the island which closed in 2011) Woodford Leigh Brushgrove (Old, police station, post office, pub, shops) Ilarwill ( aboriginal village, old quarry boat shed) Tyndale South arm As well as many of property name like yakalo on the Lawrence side of the island

Maclean District Golf Course is on the island.

Hermitt Cave, Small's Pioneer Cemetery, Old Schools, Abandoned Quarry. Police station. Radio towers. Cane fields. And the mighty Clarence River

Woodford Island Nature Reserve

The Woodford Island nature reserve (proclaimed in 1999) protects only a small part of the island, largely the higher elevation areas along the Woodford Island Ridge, and protects dry forest as well as providing habitat for threatened animal species. [1]

Threatened and vulnerable plant species found or predicted to be found in the reserve: [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grafton, New South Wales</span> City in New South Wales, Australia

Grafton is a city in the Northern Rivers region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is located on the Clarence River, on a floodplain, approximately 608 kilometres (378 mi) by road north-northeast of the state capital Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawkesbury River</span> River in New South Wales, Australia

The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. Between Wisemans Ferry and the Pacific Ocean marks the boundary of Greater Metropolitan Sydney in the south and the Central Coast region to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kempsey, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia and is the council seat for Kempsey Shire. It is located roughly 16.5 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean, on the Macleay Valley Way near where the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line cross the Macleay River. It is roughly 430 kilometres north of Sydney. As of June 2018 Kempsey had a population of 15,309 (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamba, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Yamba is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia located at the mouth of the Clarence River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongarlowe, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Mongarlowe is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. In former times, it was also known, in various contexts, as Little River, Monga, and Sergeants Point. The name, Mongarlowe, also applies to the surrounding area, for postal and statistical purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence River (New South Wales)</span> River in New South Wales, Australia

The Clarence River is a river situated in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, in the Border Ranges west of Bonalbo, near Rivertree at the junction of Koreelah Creek and Maryland River, on the watershed that marks the border between New South Wales and Queensland. It flows generally south, south east and north east, and is joined by twenty-four tributaries including Tooloom Creek and the Mann, Nymboida, Cataract, Orara, Coldstream, Timbarra, and Esk rivers. It descends 256 metres (840 ft) over the course of its 394-kilometre (245 mi) length and empties into the Coral Sea in the South Pacific Ocean, between Iluka and Yamba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Tablelands</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England region, stretching from the Moonbi Range in the south to the Queensland border in the north. The region corresponds generally to the Bureau of Meteorology forecast area for the Northern Tablelands which in this case includes Inverell although it is significantly lower in elevation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maclean, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Maclean is a town in Clarence Valley local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Clarence River and near the Pacific Highway. At the 2021 census, Maclean had a population of 2,778, total urban area including Townsend and Gulmarrad is more than 8,304. The Maclean, Yamba and Iluka area known as the Lower Clarence had a combined population of 17,533. Its industries are tourism, sugar cane production, farming and river-prawn trawling. Together with Grafton, Maclean is the shared administrative centre for the Clarence Valley Council local government area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Town, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Dungog Shire, New South Wales, Australia

Clarence Town is both a primarily rural locality and a township in the Dungog Shire local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is 193 kilometres (120 mi) north of Sydney, 54 km (34 mi) north-north-west of Newcastle, and 28 km (17 mi) from the Pacific Highway at Raymond Terrace. The locality is bisected by the Williams River. The township sits just to the west of the river about 32 km (20 mi) upstream from where it flows into the Hunter River at Raymond Terrace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulmarra</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Ulmarra is a small town on the south bank of the Clarence River in New South Wales, Australia in the Clarence Valley district. At the 2006 census, Ulmarra had a population of 446 people.

Lawrence is a small town 13 km from Maclean, New South Wales, Australia. It is accessed by the Lawrence car ferry from Woodford Island or by travelling 30 kilometres north from Grafton. At the 2021 census, the population of Lawrence was 1159.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woombah, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Woombah is a small but growing bushland village in Clarence Valley, New South Wales, Australia. This hamlet is located to the south of the World Heritage-listed Bundjalung National Park, near the Port of Yamba on Goodwood Island, and 15 minutes from the fishing village of Iluka, New South Wales.

Brushgrove is a small state suburb/village on the north coast of New South Wales, it is located at the point of the Clarence river where it splits up into two arms named the North and South arm. Located out about 1 km north of Cowper and about 7 km southwest of Lawrence. Brushgrove has a cricket pitch, sports field, pub, and park.

The Bluff Point Ferry, Lawrence is a cable ferry across the Clarence River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates between the town of Lawrence and Woodford Island, and forms part of the route east from Lawrence to the coast. It is the busiest vehicular ferry in New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Island Nature Reserve</span> Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

The Susan Island Nature Reserve is a protected 23-hectare (57-acre) reserve nature reserve located at the western (upstream) end of the 90ha Susan Island, a 2.5km long x 420m wide river island, that is located in the Clarence River, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales in eastern Australia near the centre of Grafton. The rainforest of the nature reserve and adjoining crown land is a rare 19-hectare (47-acre) example of sub tropical lowland rainforest on floodplain, and is listed under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act as an Endangered Ecological Community.

John McFarlane (1854–1915) was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 28 years, 4 months and 29 days.

Tumbulgum is a village in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is in the Tweed Shire local government area, at the confluence of the Rous and Tweed Rivers, 818 kilometres (508 mi) north east of the state capital, Sydney and 120 kilometres (75 mi) south east of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Tumbulgum had a population of 349.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McFarlane Bridge</span> Bridge in New South Wales, Australia

The McFarlane Bridge is a road bridge that carries Lawrence Road across the south arm of the Clarence River at Maclean, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge connects the communities of Maclean and Woodford Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulgundahi Island</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Ulgundahi Island is a heritage-listed Aboriginal site, formerly an occupational settlement, with ongoing usage as farmland and as a site of ongoing significance, at Clarence River by North Arm, Maclean, Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by the Yaegl Local Aboriginal Land Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 December 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harwood, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Harwood is a village on the Clarence River, 5 km north-east of Maclean in northern New South Wales. As of the 2016 census, Harwood had a population of 291. It is known for sugar cane production, with the Harwood Sugar Mill located on the eastern side of town.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Woodford Island Nature Reserve plan of management" (PDF). www.environment.nsw.gov.au. 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. "Centre For 21st Century Humanities: Woodford Island massacre". c21ch.newcastle.edu.au. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  3. "McFarlane Bridge". Tasmanian Timber Promotion Board. University of Tasmania. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  4. "McFarlane Bridge, Clarence River, Maclean, 1906". Engineers Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2015.