You Won't Believe This Town Is In New South Wales

Nimbin is a tiny town of just over two thousand residents where the hippie spirit of the 1970s lives on. The community was once a quiet dairy village before one experimental festival in 1973 drew a wave of countercultural Australians eager to make a new life outside the norm. That legacy lives on through the town's festivals, raves, and cooperative markets. Visitors can escape into a protected rainforest or photograph the majestic volcanic rocks just outside the village. Nimbin's wellness spaces fill the place with organic food and yoga studios and an art-walk trail leading to a free swimming pool and skate park. With its quirky attitude and bohemian spirit you won't believe this town is in New South Wales.

History

Nimbin's name comes from the name of a legendary figure known as Nyimbunji by the indigenous Widjabul Wia-bal people. His name translates in English to clever man, a title that many modern residents of Nimbin might claim to this day. The land was covered by dense subtropical rainforests and eucalypt forests, which drew the attention of European settlers in the 1840s.

The settlers engaged in extensive logging that cleared most of the original forest. From there, Nimbin was divided into dairy and banana farms. By 1908, a dairy co-operative had been established in Nimbin. However, economic pressures destroyed much of the dairy industry in the 1960s. The town was in decline until the Australian Union of Students requested that it host an experimental festival, the Aquarius Festival, in May 1973.

This event was designed as a "festival without a program" to celebrate the alternative lifestyles of the hippie movement through music, art, nude yoga classes, and more. Hippies were so impressed by the displays of art and sustainable living that the town became a lightning rod for a new group: the Aquarians. They began settling in the town and transformed it into the hippie oasis within New South Wales that it is to this day.

These new residents quickly made a difference in their community by campaigning to stop logging of the last remaining parts of the rainforest, which eventually led to the creation of Nightcap National Park. They also worked with local indigenous leaders to acknowledge their ownership of the land, including the Nimbin Rocks, fragments from the Wollumbin volcanoes, which are now owned by the Bundjalung people.

Hippie Attractions

Nimbin maintains its emphasis on art and sustainable living through its hippie businesses, galleries, and other attractions. The colourful nature-loving culture of Nimbin is on full display through the Nimbin Craft Gallery. This gallery has been in business since the 1980s, supporting local artisans and crafters through jewellery, clothing, gifts, and other pieces of art. The Nimbin Artists Gallery, meanwhile, supports and sells the works of local painters, sculptors, and others.

Nimbin residents have also made use of the older dairy facilities for fresh purposes, like the Nimbin Bush Theatre. This building used to be the Old Butter Factory, and today it accommodates up to 350 guests for its films, music, theatre, workshops, and other events. Some of its most recent events include screenings of the early 2000s comedy "Dude Where's My Car?" and a Yin Yoga and Sound Healing event.

Community Events

Community is of the utmost importance to the small town of Nimbin, as it was a grassroots campaign that led to its revitalization in the first place. For example, Nimbin doesn't just host a regular farmer's market; it showcases its entire culture of fair trade, recycling, and quirky fashion through the regularly held Nimbin Markets.

Nimbin keeps its musical roots alive through the Nimbin Roots Festival, held annually in October and featuring a variety of indie artists. When spring arrives in September in Australia, Nimbin lights up the town with raves, artistic projections, and live DJs for its Sonic Bloom festival. This event harkens back to the days of Nimbin's founding music festival, when guests dressed in elaborate costumes.

Nimbin also celebrates sustainable agriculture through its family-friendly Country Show in September. The event includes food vendors, crafts, beer, and livestock competitions.

Outdoors

It's easy to find natural escapes both within Nimbin and just outside of it. Inside Nimbin, the Rainbow Walk connects the community to various outdoor activities. This short trail has gardens, boardwalks, and artwork from Ross Wallace. The park leads to Nimbin's free Swimming Pool, the Nimbin Skatepark, and the Aquarius Park, which acts as a town community centre.

The area's most recognizable natural feature is the Nimbin Rocks themselves, which are a short drive from the village. These volcanic extrusions were used as initiation sites for young boys of the Bundjalung people, and today are viewable from the road.

The best way to get out into nature is through the national park that the original hippies advocated for: Nightcap National Park. This rainforest environment is a strong destination to see rare animals such as Fleay's barred frog, known for its "ok" sound. Hiking through the park will take one to several distinctive vistas, such as the Minyon Falls lookout, or a journey through the World Heritage rainforest via the Historic Nightcap walking track.

The park is also a fantastic environment for having a picnic, such as the Mount Nardi picnic area, located on the highest point in Nightcap National Park. From this picnic area, one can view the Northern Rivers region amid tulip oaks and cream flowers. The area also acts as an entry point to the Mount Matheson loop trail.

Organic Shops

Visitors to Nimbin will have a lot of options when it comes to healthy markets, shops and cafes that tap into the community's sustainable spirit.

For example, travellers can try out organic produce, groceries, and vegetables from the nonprofit Nimbin Organic Food Co-op or enjoy breakfast at the Aquarius Cafe, with its cakes, chips and coffee. There are plenty of vegetarian options in Nimbin, such as the Nimbin Feast Cafe's vegetarian dishes made from locally grown produce.

This eco-friendly culture also extends to its shops, such as Nimbin Candles. This candle factory designs smokeless candles with vegetable-based dyes and no animal byproducts. Visitors can witness its water-driven candle dipping deck in action, the only one of its kind in Australia.

Visiting Nimbin feels like a step back in time, to the optimistic yet socially aware era of the 1960s and 1970s, when countercultural groups strongly believed they could change the world through music, art, protest, and sustainable living. While some visitors might disagree with some of the views of Nimbin, they'll come away culturally enriched from its artistic co-ops, eclectic stores, and, of course, its vistas of waterfalls and rainforests at the Nightcap National Park. It's worth visiting Nimbin just to experience its offbeat legacy and history that make it stand out from all the other towns and cities of New South Wales.