Murwillumbah

New South Wales, Australia
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Murwillumbah, coastal town, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. It lies about 20 miles (32 km) above the mouth of the Tweed River, near the Queensland border.

Murwillumbah was surveyed in 1872 and took its name from an Aboriginal term meaning either a “good campsite” or “place of many possums.” Development was slow until the town was reached in 1894 by a rail extension from Lismore to the south. Murwillumbah has had a history marked by disaster. It was destroyed by fire in 1907 and ravaged by floods in 1947, 1954, and 1956. Located on the Pacific Highway, it is a processing and service centre for a district of dairy farming and the growing of bananas and sugarcane. A banana festival is celebrated in August. Pop. (2006) urban centre, 7,952; (2011) urban centre, 8,523.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Lorraine Murray.