The region

Overview
Population
Local government

Overview

The Northern Rivers Region stretches from the Queensland border in the North to the Southern end of the Clarence Valley and from the coastal plains in the East to the Great Dividing Range in the West.

The Local Government Areas that make up the region are Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley and Kyogle.

With a current population of 271 056 people, the Northern Rivers Region has one of the highest rates of population growth in an Australian region outside the capital cities. New residents are attracted to the array of lifestyle opportunities and an increasingly sophisticated regional community with new opportunities in areas such as tourism, the arts and creative industries.

The Northern Rivers Region is culturally and environmentally diverse. Crossed by three major river systems - the Tweed, Richmond and Clarence – it is renowned for its warm subtropical climate, rainforests and coastline. The region also has a rich Indigenous cultural history and is renowned for its creative communities and high concentration of artists and cultural activity.

The rich culture of the region is influenced by the Indigenous Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr heritage, a rural and agricultural past, the traditions of the New Italy settlements, the alternative cultures introduced by new settlers after the Aquarius festival in Nimbin in 1973 and the surf culture and university students, and the newest wave of sea-change settlers relocating from the metropolitan centres.

Major cities in the region are Tweed Heads, Lismore, Grafton and Ballina. It known for its tourist icons such as Byron Bay and Nimbin, and loved for its coastal towns and traditional rural towns and villages.

Regional Development is fostered by the Northern Rivers Regional Development Board. Key features of the regional economy are:

• over A$364 million in agricultural commodities produced per annum
  
• flourishing niche agricultural sector in commodities like coffee and tea-tree oil
  
• manufacturing sector turnover A$813 million per annum
  
• the creative industries are developing as a significant economic driver and employing over 4% of the local work force. The creative industries are particularly well developed in the Film, Television, Music & Entertainment sector and the Visual Arts sector.

Tourism is a key industry for the region with many attractions. These include:

• clean beaches and unspoilt coastline
  
• towns like Byron Bay, Nimbin, Bangalow
  
• colourful weekend markets
  
• major cultural events such as the popular East Coast Blues and Roots Music Festival, held around Easter each year, the Byron Bay Writers Festival, the Wintersun Festival and the Lismore Lantern Parade
  
• national parks such as Mount Warning, and the Bundjalung and Yuragir National Parks, and natural attractions such as Minyon Falls, Mount Warning and the vast rivers of the region.

For information about visiting the region (getting here, where to stay, what to do, and themed trails) go to the Rivers of Life website www.riversoflife.com.au.

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Population

With a current population of 271 056 people, the Northern Rivers Region has one of the highest rates of population growth in an Australian region outside the capital cities. The region’s population has grown by 17% in the last 10 years. The Northern Rivers Region is expected to continue to display robust population growth and is forecast to grow by around 1.20% per annum over the next 20 years (source: NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources – 2002, 1996-based population projections recalibrated to 2001 Census data).

There are a total of 7 local government areas in the Northern Rivers Region with a total population of 271,056 and a total land area is 20,895.0 square kms.

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