Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales.
Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales. It is located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Tweed Shire, next to the border with Queensland and adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the Gold Coast. It is often referred to as a town where people can change time zones – even celebrate New Year twice within an hour – simply by crossing the street, due to its proximity to the Queensland border, and the fact that New South Wales observes daylight saving whereas Queensland does not.
History
In 1823 John Oxley was the first European to see the Tweed Valley, and he wrote of it:
"A deep rich valley clothed with magnificent trees, the beautiful uniformity of which was only interrupted by the turns and windings of the river, which here and there appeared like small lakes. The background was Mt. Warning. The view was altogether beautiful beyond description. The scenery here exceeded anything I have previously seen in Australia."Timber cutters originally moved to the Tweed Valley in 1844. After the timber had been cleared, farmers moved in with bananas, cane and dairy farming dominating the area, while a fishing industry developed.The first school opened in 1871.
In May 1888, 119 subdivided lots of "Boyd Estate" were advertised to be auctioned by W. H. Brett. A map advertising the auction shows that the estate was located next to the Tweed River.
Tweed Heads was once connected to the Queensland Railways system, with the South Coast line providing a direct connection to Brisbane. The railway opened on 10 August 1903 It had been hoped that the New South Wales government would extend their railway line from Murwillumbah to Tweed Heads, but this did not occur due to cost of resuming the land and the expenses associated with the tunnel and bridge that would be required. The Tweed Heads railway station was located on the western side of Enid Street between Bay Street and Frances Street (28.17193°S 153.54073°E? / -28.17193; 153.54073? (Tweed Heads railway station)). The railway line to Brisbane closed in 1961; the site of the station has been converted to parklands and commercial development.The Tweed Heads and Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club opened on 13 September 1911.In April 1916, 69 allotments of "Charles' Tweed Heads subdivision were advertised to be auctioned by P. Smith & Son. A map advertising the auction shows the location of the estate in proximity to Terranora Creek.In November 1917, 46 subdivided allotments of "Marks Estate" were advertised for auction by S. A. Thornton. A map advertising the auction illustrates the location of the estate in proximity to Terranora Creek, Coolangatta and the Pacific Ocean and describes the allotments as perfectly flat, large areas with splendid frontages.The Tweed Shire, inclusive Murwillumbah was declared in 1947.Tweed Heads was the location of fictional town Porpoise Spit in the 1994 movie Muriel's Wedding.
In April 2020 checkpoint barriers were established in Tweed streets near the state border to restrict travel into Coolangatta during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Weather
Things to do
Given its proximity to the Gold Coast, Tweed Heads has a shared economy with Coolangatta based heavily on tourism.
Tweed Heads' most popular tourist destinations include Mount Warning, one of the largest shield volcanoes in the Southern Hemisphere, and the nearby Nightcap, Border Ranges, Springbrook and Lamington National Parks, which abound with sub-tropical fauna and flora.