The old and New England

Inspiration ... the Dangars Falls in full flow.Credit: Daniel Scott

Daniel Scott samples a special kind of urban life in a regional city with 4000 university students and 53 nationalities.

When we arrive at Petersons Winery and Guesthouse, just outside Armidale, we're ready to drive straight back home. As we crunch up the long tree-lined driveway towards the historic 1911 country house where we're spending the weekend, both our toddlers are crying and their parents are stressed.

"Looks like the last place we should have brought the kids," my partner says as she takes in the splendid mansion set in neatly trimmed English gardens.

When we reach our two-room premier suite, exquisitely furnished with antiques, our anxiety amplifies. It's full of precious breakables and our one-year-old has already begun extracting bottles from the wine rack. Our three-year-old, meanwhile, has vanished.

Moments later, the beaming guest-house manager, Korryn Harris, knocks on our door.

"You look a bit frazzled," she observes sympathetically. "Let me organise some tea and home-made cakes."

Within 20 minutes Harris has recovered our older daughter, delivered high tea, set up a cot so our youngest can take an afternoon nap and completely allayed our fears.

Mind at rest, I head into Armidale to join a heritage tour. Hosted by Werner Schwarz, who has lived in the city for 50 years, the 2½-hour tour is a feast of local history.

Before white settlement, the Armidale region was occupied by the Anaiwan Aborigines. It wasn't until 1818 that the surrounding tablelands were discovered and mapped by surveyor-general John Oxley, who was much impressed by the rolling terrain. It was, he recorded in his journal, "the finest open country, or rather park, imaginable" and he recommended the region for pastoral development.

It was 14 years before pastoralists began arriving and squatters were the first to take up land. Murderous confrontations with Aborigines followed, culminating in the 1838 Myall Creek massacre. The following year, the government appointed commissioner George Macdonald to restore law and order in the troubled New England district.

Arriving with 10 police officers, Macdonald located his head station "on an extensive open plain - well watered and sheltered - centrically situated" and named - but misspelt - it after Armadale, the Macdonald family seat in Scotland.

Armidale became the natural administrative centre of New England and expanded rapidly in the following decades as gold was discovered nearby and the railway arrived.

"The churches were on the scene early, too," Schwarz says as we visit the city's two cathedrals: the Catholic St Mary's, built in 1872; and the Anglican St Peter's, designed by architect John Horbury Hunt and opened three years later.

In 1885, Armidale was declared a city and began building its reputation as a regional educational centre. By the 1920s, it had four boarding schools, a private and a public high school and four state primary schools. A large teacher-training facility was added in 1928 and Armidale became the site of the first rural university in NSW.

"The University of New England now has 4000 on-campus students," Schwarz says, "and 15,000 on distance learning." The institution is partly responsible for Armidale's cosmopolitan feel, drawing students from around the world. The city's population of 24,000 is drawn from 53 countries.

Armidale's history is etched into the facades of its buildings. The grand post office (1880), the courthouse (1899) opposite and the state bank (1888), all on central Beardy Street, reflect the lofty ambitions of the time. Armidale also has two heritage pubs: the 1889 Imperial, once known as the "most impressive hotel in the north" for its High Victorian exterior, parapets and cast-iron frieze work; and the 1897 New England Hotel, where a 12-year-old Peter Allen first performed.

The city is much more than a historical shell, however, as we discover when we dine at Bistro on Cinders. Still worried about our unsettled children, we soon blend into a noisy, eclectic crowd enjoying fare as good as the atmosphere. The blackboard menu changes frequently; on tonight's board are an entree of chilli prawns with avocado and lime mousse and a main of pan-fried duck breast with orange and cranberry pilaf, chestnut puree and brandied grapes.

Next morning we meet Francesca Stahlut, who moved to Armidale from Sydney in 1977. "After growing up in inner-city Potts Point," Stahlut tells us over breakfast at the Rene on the Mews cafe, "I was amazed to find such a dynamic regional city with a lively university, a diverse music scene and an extraordinary culture generally."

Strolling through Armidale's central mall, where a young harpist strums at one end and an Aboriginal trio bang out rock at the other, we see what Stahlut means. The city's cultural vibrancy is underlined by a visit to the New England Regional Art Museum, which houses 5000 works.

Foremost is the Howard Hinton collection. Hinton (1867-1948) was a Sydney shipping agent and visionary collector of Australian art who donated 1100 paintings to Armidale's Teachers College between 1929 and 1948. In 1983 the museum took possession of the collection, valued at more than $40 million and including works by Norman Lindsay, Arthur Streeton, Hans Heysen and Elioth Gruner. Most famous and luminous of the paintings is Tom Roberts's Mosman's Bay, an 1894 depiction of the Sydney artist's colony.

Next door, at the Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, homage is paid to Armidale's indigenous heritage. It's a welcoming space where the children are kept happy with an interactive corner and a bush-tucker walk. Among the works on display is Lloyd Hornsby's The Apology, commemorating Kevin Rudd's historic 2007 "sorry" to Aborigines.

In the afternoon, Stahlut takes us to see some of New England's spectacular gorge country. Set 1000 metres above sea level, Armidale is Australia's highest city and nearby mighty waterfalls plunge from the plateau.

Just 22 kilometres to the south-east, in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, are the Dangars Falls. Dropping 120 metres into a profound cleft, the falls are a powerful, unstoppable torrent when we visit.

Back at Petersons, we tour the 16-hectare vineyard, among about 20 wineries in the region yielding premium colder-climate wines, including shiraz and riesling, and we sample a few at the cellar door in the old stables. In the late-afternoon sun we spread out on the lawn with a glass of wine and some cheese.

Our day ends with a fine dinner in the wood-panelled dining room. Chef Sandy Harris prepares local smoked ebor trout rillette with baby caper tartare and lamb backstrap with coriander and mint pesto, with ravioli for the children.

In 1907, an early tourist guide described Armidale as "a perfect asylum of refuge for those in search of an invigorating climate" and "a beautiful city" with "its educational establishments of great repute, fine hotels and stores". A hundred years later, we find the description is still apt.

Daniel Scott travelled courtesy of New England Tourism and Petersons Winery and Guesthouse.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Armidale is 567 kilometres north of Sydney via the New England Highway. Qantaslink has daily flights from Sydney (75min).

Touring there

New England Regional Art Museum houses 5000 works of art. Free entry, open Tue-Sun. Guided storeroom tours cost $11, bookings essential. At Kentucky Street, phone [phone], see neram.com.au.

Aboriginal Culture Centre and Keeping Place has free entry and is open from Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 10am-2pm. At 128 Kentucky Street, phone [phone], see acckp.com.au.

The Visitor Information Centre has a free heritage bus tour, departing at 10am daily from 82 Marsh Street, phone [phone], see armidaletourism.com.au.

Staying there

Beautifully restored Petersons Winery and Guesthouse has sumptuous country-house accommodation and is a 10-minute drive from Armidale on the Dangars Falls road. Suites cost from $198. Cellar door open 10am-4pm daily (5pm Saturdays). At 345 Dangarsleigh Road, phone [phone], see petersonsguesthouse.com.au.

Eating there

Rene on the Mews cafe is open Mon-Sat, at 24 Moore Street, phone [phone].

Caffiends on Marsh is open Mon-Sat, at 1/110 Marsh Street, phone [phone].

Bistro on Cinders has been included in this year's Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. Entrees from $14.50, mains from $28.50. At 14 Cinders Lane, phone [phone]. See bistrooncinders.com.