MY TOWN: TWEED HEADS

NATURE, COMMUNITY AND A BURGEONING FOOD AND ARTS SCENE MAKE THIS TOWN ON NSW’S FAR NORTH COAST RATHER APPEALING.

This NSW town on the Tweed River is a popular holiday destination and the last stop before the border.

DESPITE ITS PROXIMITY to the flashy Gold Coast, the riverside town of Tweed Heads has a down-to-earth charm, eschewing bright lights in favour of community spirit.

It sits between pristine beaches and rainforest valleys on the Far North Coast of NSW, adjoining its ‘twin town’ of Coolangatta at the Queensland border, but natural beauty is only part of Tweed’s appeal. The area’s residents can enjoy the vibrant café and arts scene, plus an active outdoor lifestyle, while avoiding the hustle and bustle of its northerly neighbour. As part of the geographically diverse Tweed Shire, which has a total population of 96,000, Tweed Heads is a favoured destination for vacations and weddings, as well as retirees and new homebuyers alike.

Fran Hardy and her daughter Hannah run Endeavour, spacious, light-filled boutique accommodation just a stone’s throw from the town’s shops and eateries. “Tweed Heads has so much to offer, we love it here,” says Hannah, 26, who grew up nearby and returned in late 2019 after living in Brisbane and London for 10 years. “I’ve come back at a time when there are lots of exciting things happening.”

The family purchased the property in 2015 and opened Endeavour in January 2019. The two side-by-side lodgings have a holiday-at-home feel. ‘Muriel’ sleeps six and is named after Fran’s grandmother, while the two-bedroom ‘Mrs Ollie’ was her cherished childhood neighbour. The business has allowed 55-year-old Fran to work with long-time friends as well as meet new people in the neighbourhood. “This project has brought me closer to the community I grew up in,” she says.

Around the corner is sustainability focused The Bread Social, which supplies Endeavour with organic ciabatta loaves. Following on from the success of their bakery at The Farm in Byron Bay, the team was looking for a standalone site in Tweed Heads in 2016 and saw plenty of potential on Bay Street.

“The council put a lot of work into widening and greening up the footpaths, and there were a handful of new businesses changing the face of what was happening here,” says co-owner and baker Paul Giddings, who cites Tweed Heads’ friendly, relaxed atmosphere as the biggest drawcard for the area. “The support we’ve received from the community has been pretty amazing.” >

For more information about Tweed Heads, go to visitthetweed.com.au