"Kyogle is on the rainforest's doorstep, Kyogle has numerous tourist attractions and lots of  entertainment and accommodation options."

KYOGLE - GATEWAY TO THE RAINFOREST

Kyogle is located 758 km north of Sydney, 32 km north of Casino and 60 metres above sea level on the Richmond River at the base of Fairymount. In recent times this pleasant town has been promoted as 'The Gateway to the Rainforests'. This claim is justified as it is surrounded by one of the largest remaining areas of rainforest in the state and the town boasts an annual rainfall of 1118mm.

Prior to European settlement the area around Kyogle was home to the Bundjalung Aborigines. It is claimed that the Bundjalung word 'kaiou-gal' means 'the place of the bush turkey or bustard'. It is said that the first European use of the word occurred when a nearby cattle station was named Kaiou-gal Station.

The first European into the area was Sir John Jamieson who established the Richmond Head run. When he died the property was purchased by two Irishmen, Charles Fawcett and Henry Mayne, who renamed the property Fairy Mount. It covered 30,720 acres.

Reaching the area in 1844 Oliver Fry, the Commissioner for Crown Lands, remarked: 'No country ever came from the hand of its creator more eminently qualified to be the abode of a thriving and numerous population than the one of which I speak'. Similar enthusiasm was expressed by other early settlers. The area was settled through the 1840s and 1850s with only a small number of large holdings occupying the Upper Richmond Valley. Although these early settlers were farmers by the 1860s cedar cutters had moved in and were working their way through the district's rich rainforests. From the 1860s until the 1890s the dominant industry was cedar cutting. When it died out hoop pine took over with the region becoming an important supplier of plywoods. Today Norply is the state's largest provider of veneer timbers.

The town of Kyogle did not develop until the very end of the 19th century. The first use of the word 'Kyogle' to refer to the settlement occurred as late as 1899. The town was surveyed, subdivided and sold in 1903-1904. Immediately the economic base was changed as dairy farmers moved in. A butter factory was established in 1905 and by 1950 there were 523 dairies in the district. The railway arrived from Casino in 1910 but the complex Border Loop, with its circular viaduct, meant that it did not cross the mountains and reach Brisbane until 1930.

Today Kyogle is sustained by the local timber industry. Norply is an important local employer as are the rich timber forests around the town. The Kyogle Fairymount Festival is held each July.

Kyogle stands in the centre of the State's largest rainforests in prosperous beef and dairy country. The tall Macpherson, Tweed and Richmond mountain ranges surround the town to the north, east and west.

Kyogle proclaims itself 'Gateway to the Rainforest', due to its proximity to the stunning mountain scenery and rainforests of Border Ranges National Park and Mount Warning National Park.

The site of the present town was part of a cattle station, the original settlers being squatters who grazed their livestock there after the cedarcutters had cleared the area of trees. Part of the estate was subdivided for Kyogle village in 1903.

Kyogle Botanical Gardens
Located on the banks of Fawcetts Creek the Kyogle Botanical Gardens have a pleasant mixture of formal gardens and revegetated creek environments as well as paths and bikeways.

Captain Cook Memorial Lookout
Located on the top of Fairy Mountain (turn off Summerland Way opposite the hospital into Rous Street and then follow Fairy Street around into Mount Street) this lookout offers excellent views over the town and the surrounding countryside.

Toonumbah National Park
Toonumbah National Park is located about 35 km west of Kyogle.This is a significant World Heritage Area of 5750 hectares. It contains two World Heritage-listed rainforests - the Murray Scrub and Dome Mountain Forest. The region is characterised by remnant volcanic forms - Mount Lindesay, Dome Mountain and Edinburgh Castle. The combination of rich volcanic soils and high subtropical rainfall means that the park contains over 400 species of flowering plant. This is the home to the booyong tree, strangler fig, Moreton Bay fig, hoop pine, giant stinging tree, flame tree and rosewood. It is also a habitat for over 100 species of birds and has numbers of rare animals including the tiger quoll, Coxen's fig parrot and Albert's lyrebird. The Murray Scrub Walking Track, where it is possible to see hundreds of strangling figs, starts just south of the Iron Pot Creek crossing. The walk lasts for about half an hour.

Toonumbah Dam
Located 31 km west of Kyogle the dam is notable because it is built from earth and rocks. It was opened in 1972 and dams the waters of Iron Pot Creek. Near the dam wall there are pleasant picnic facilities including barbecue sites, picnic tables and there are places where boats can be launched on the dam. A few kilometres away is the Toonumbah Pine Forest with its lookout which offers visitors views across the Upper Richmond Valley and into Queensland. If you have a large group it is possible to book the Toonumbah Waters Retreat, a recreation and conference centre. Contact (02) 6633 9135.

Border Loop
Located only 1 km from the Cougal Siding (it is marked on the Lions Tourist Road from Kyogle to Beaudesert) this loop, like the Zigzag railway at Lithgow, is a method of getting trains across the Macpherson Range. It has an unusual circular viaduct which gives the trains the height to get through the mountains. There are picnic facilities at the Loop Lookout.

Richmond Range National Park
Located 40 km west of Kyogle via Afterlee Road, Toonumbah Dam and Oaky Creek Road, the Richmond Range National Park is ideal for camping, bushwalking, birdwatching, photography. It has picnic tables, barbecues and there are three walking tracks all of which start at the rest area. There is a very easy ten minute walking loop, a 2 km rainforest track and a 6 km hike to the Culmaran Creek Falls. The Richmond Range National Park includes the rainforests of Cambridge Plateau which are internationally significant (they are included on the World Heritage List as part of the 'Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia') and include 400 species of flowering plants as well as brush box, blue gum, flooded gum, giant stinging trees, hoop pines, strangler figs, Moreton Bay figs and white booyongs. The fauna in the region includes spotted-tail quoll, yellow-bellied and squirrel gliders, brush-tailed phascogale and Albert's lyrebird.

Moore Park Nature Reserve
Located off the Summerland Way near Old Grevillia 26 km north-west of Kyogle this tiny reserve has the most important example of black bean rainforest in New South Wales.

Border Ranges National Park
Border Ranges National Park is a popular and highly scenic World Heritage Park which incorporates 30 000 ha of rainforest in an 85-km east-west span along the state border. It contains an extraordinary array of fauna and there are numerous walks.

The eastern plateau of the park is traversed by the excellent 64-km Tweed Range Scenic Drive, a well-maintained gravel road, suitable for cars and small buses, which mostly pursues the escarpment edge of the Mt Warning caldera (the mountain looms prominently to the south), offering outstanding views. It forms a rough semi-circle which can be joined from either end. However, it is probably best to take the Barkers Vale turnoff (signposted) from the Kyogle-Murwillumbah Rd at Lillian Rock (25 km from Kyogle).

First stop is the Bar Mountain Picnic Area (1000 m above sea-level), set amidst Antarctic beeches. There are two walking tracks. Another 3.5 km along the Tweed Drive there is a roadside stop with a view of Collins Creek Falls which drop 150 m.

It is less than a kilometre to Blackbutts Picnic Area which offers excellent views of the Tweed Valley and of Mt Warning, the remnant magma chamber of an extinct and enormous volcano which is set amidst a basin formed by the erosion of the volcano's solidified lava. 7.7 km north of Blackbutts is a 5-minute walk to the Pinnacle Lookout.

Proceed along Tweed Drive for another 4 km then turn left. After 4.3 km you can either turn right into a loop road or left to Forest Tops Camping Area (an overnight site with an all-weather cooking galley). 1.7 km along the loop road there are facilities and short loop walks along the creek. The three-hour walk to Antarctic Beech Picnic Area also starts here. Alternatively, you can drive along the loop road for 5 km to the latter destination where there are more short walks. Another 1.8 km along the loop road is the Tweed Valley Lookout.

At the next intersection turn right back onto the Tweed Drive. Further along is the Sheep station Camping Area set amidst eucalypt forest. There are more walking trails.

The Drive next reaches a T-intersection. Turn right onto Simes Road which soon reaches an intersection with the Lions Road. Turn left and you will eventually reach a T-intersection with the Summerland Way - the sealed road which joins Kyogle to Woodenbong.

The central section can be accessed from Lions Rd (4.4 km of which are unsealed) which turns off the Summerland Way 22 km north of Kyogle en route to Woodenbong.

The eastern section is accessible via the excellent 64-km Tweed Range Scenic Drive (signposted from Lillian Rock) There are camping and picnic areas.

The western section is remote and only accessible by experienced, well-supplied walkers with topographic maps.