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THINGS TO DO
The Heritage Tour is a good way to see Armidale. The
bus leaves the visitors centre at 10am weekdays, and
10.30am weekends and holidays for a 2hr guided tour
exploring the city’s history and heritage—the cost
is a gold coin donation. The Heritage Walk is also
worthwhile. Leaflets are available from the visitors
centre and the walk includes 34 points of interest.
Armidale’s parks and gardens are especially
attractive during spring and autumn. The Apex
Memorial Lookout in
Drummond
Park provides a view of the
whole city. There are many museums to visit,
including the modern
Regional
Art Museum in Kentucky St.
Exhibits include the collections of Howard Hinton,
Chandler Coventry as well as works by other
Australian artists. Armidale and
New England
Folk Museum
is housed in the old School of Arts and Mechanics
Institute (1863) and depicts the life and history of
the city. Several rooms are furnished in
period-style. The museum is located on the corner of
Faulkner and Rusden Streets and is open daily,
1pm-4pm.
The old gold-mining town Hillgrove is located 27km
to the east. Hillgrove was once home to 3000
residents. The 2 mines here produced over $1.6
million worth of gold. The Hillgrove Rural Life and
Industry
Museum is open Fri-Mon and
holidays from 10am -5pm. Approximately 6km south of
Armidale is Saumarez Homestead, a house museum
developed by the National Trust. The homestead
reflects the history of the New
England
pastoral properties. Surrounded by gardens and views
of pastureland, the property is open daily from
September to the June long weekend. Arrange to view
inside the house with the information centre. Within
a 1hr drive of the city are 3 national parks: New
England, Cathedral Rock and
Oxley
Wild Rivers.
Oxley Wild Rivers NP contains Dangars Gorge, 23km
south of Armidale and is well worth visiting.
Wollomombi Falls, 40km east on Waterfall Way, is the
second highest waterfall in
Australia, with a
drop of 220m.
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