Woodford Island is an inland island in the Far-North Coast of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is formed by the Clarence River

Clarence River (New South Wales)

The Clarence River is situated in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The river originates on the watershed that marks the Queensland border. After flowing south and northeast for 394 km it then empties into the Pacific Ocean at Iluka/Yamba. On its journey it passes through the towns of...

 where it splits into the South Arm and North Arm at the small village of Brushgrove

Brushgrove, New South Wales

Brushgrove is a small state suburb/village on the north coast of New South Wales, it is located at the point of the Clarence river where it splits up into to arms named the North and South arm. Located out about 1 km north of Cowper and about 7 km southwest of Lawrence. Brusgrove has a cricket...

 then reforms at the town of Maclean

Maclean, New South Wales

Maclean is a town in Clarence Valley Local Government Area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Clarence River and near the Pacific Highway. At the 2006 census, Maclean had a population of 3,245 people...

. The island covers 37 square kilometres.

Economy

Woodford Island is mostly flood plain which supports the primary industries of sugar cane and milk producing cattle. There are a few small businesses, however, most residents travel off the island to Maclean or Grafton for goods and services.

People & Geography

Through its almost exact centre is a mountain ridge. The rest is plains which is subjected to periodic flooding. The largest town is Brushgrove at the south of the island.

History

Woodford Island was one of the first places inhabited by Europeans on the Far-North Coast. Original settlers were attracted to the abundance of Australian Redcedar

Toona

Toona is a genus of five species of trees in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, native from Afghanistan south to India, and east to North Korea, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia...

. The town of Brushgrove was once a major trading hub for timber, sugar and other agriculture goods due to its location on the Clarence River. This brought tremendous wealth to area and at one time the island supported many schools, a police station, many businesses and other utilities. However, due to the development of road and train infrastructure, the town has dwindled in size over the past century.

Points of Interests

Hermitt Cave,
Golf Course,
Old Settlers Graveyard,
Old School,
Abandoned Quarry.

Interesting alleged fact

It is claimed Woodford Island is the largest inland island in the Southern Hemisphere with its own mountain range.{By whom|date=March 2009}}. It is however smaller than many river islands in South America and Africa. It is in fact the largest Non-Delta (not formed from river sedimentation) river island in the Southern Hemisphere.