Armidale

University of New England

Armidale statistics:

Population: 22,000

Postcode: 2350

Rainfall: 777mm

Temperatures: 13-27C summer, 0-12C winter

Armidale is the "capital" of the New England region. It sits atop the Great Dividing Range, at an elevation of about 1000m. The city is about half way between Brisbane and Sydney, taking the inland New England Highway.

Being in the mountains, the city is handy to some wonderful scenery. Not far out of the city are including forests, mountain gorges, waterfalls (Wollomombi Falls are one of the highest in Australia) and four national parks.

Autumn is considered to be the best time of the year to be in the city. There are four distinct seasons, autumn being the most colourful. A festival commemorates the beauty of the city in that season.

As a University city, Armidale has a diverse community which enjoys the cosmopolitan atmosphere provided by beautiful pedestrian malls, alfresco dining, vibrant monthly markets in the mall, regular artistic events and cultural festivals.

Does this city sound like the kind of place you would call home? Let's consider what it has to offer.

ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

Annual events include:

• Women's Comedy Festival
  
  
• New England Writers Festival
  
  
• New England Bach Festival
  
  
• International Recorder and Dance Festival
  
  
• Autumn Festival
  
  
• UNE Outdoor Shakespeare Festival

And events in nearby towns include:

• Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival


• Uralla Youth Festival


• Thunderbolt Country Fair in Uralla

Reviewing the city's events makes it apparent the influence the arts has in the region. The city has the best regional art gallery in NSW outside the main metropolitan cities with major collections valued at over $50 million. It has a twin cinema which shows mainstream and art house movies. There is the New England Conservatorium of Music with more than 1500 students, a Symphony Orchestra, a Youth Orchestra, a biennial Bach Festival and several choral groups. The Armidale Playhouse Theatre, Armidale Musical Society, Stage One Theatre
for Children and the University of New England Department of Theatre Studies perform regularly during the year.

The city has first class sporting facilities including several swimming complexes, artificial hockey fields, a world standard indoor sporting complex and many fields for soccer, cricket, football, tennis, netball, athletics and other sports.

CITY SERVICES

Schools. Armidale is an educational centre. The city has 8 public primary schools and 2 public high schools. In addition, there are 5 private schools.

It is, however, tertiary education that makes the city an academic centre. A relatively large university, the University of New England (UNE), has some 17,000 students, many studying externally. There is also a college of TAFE.

Health. The public hospital is undergoing expansion to accommodate medical students from the UNE, the medical school starting 2008.The hospital has a surgical ward, medical ward, paediatric ward, obstetric unit, day surgery unit, rehabilitation ward, psychiatric unit and intensive care unit.

The Mayne Health operated Armidale Private Hospital is located adjacent to the public hospital and was opened in 1998. The private hospital includes a 32-bed ward area and 2 operating theatres. Currently the private hospital has local specialist physicians, paediatricians, an orthopaedic surgeon, an ophthalmologist and pathologist, as well as general surgeons and anaesthetists.

Shops. There are several shopping centres. In addition, there is an outdoor mall in the city centre.

Transport. Daily flights to Brisbane and Sydney. Daily CountryLink rail service to Sydney. Coach services that run to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Parks. We should say 'parks and gardens.' The climate is favourable for great natural beauty within the city itself, as the images below testify.

View a city map of Armidale.

ARMIDALE AREA

There are a number of national parks located nearby. Here is a brief comment on some of them:

• Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. The park contains the largest dry rainforest in NSW. There are 13 major waterfalls in the park. The park is situated on the Great Escarpment which divides the tablelands from the coast. Here the New England Plateau drops precipitously into the rugged gorges carved out by the Aspley and upper Macleay Rivers which meander through the park.
• Styx River State Forest
• New England National Park. Ecosystems range from snow gum woodland and Antarctic beech rainforest to subtropical rainforest, including wet and dry eucalypt forest, subalpine heath and wetlands.
• Cathedral Rock National Park. Characterised by large granite outcrops it is an ideal spot for exploring and climbing.

In all there are 20 national parks in the New England Region.

Towns located nearby are Uralla, Walcha and Guyra.

View some photos we took in the region.

View personal comments on the city.

ECONOMICS

Employment. Unemployment is about the national average.

Being an educational centre, many employment opportunities exist with educational institutions or their support services.

With the Economic Development group focusing on the expansion of the Health and Wellbeing sector, exporters and knowledge based business, there is a growing demand for a range of skills in Armidale.

Investing. These price ranges are approximate only and are as at the mid 2006 market. For further enquiries contact any of Armidale’s real estate agents:
Units $120,000 to $345000
3-bedroom house $160,000 – $220,000

Begin your search for real estate or rental properties in the area.

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