Yamba, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Yamba
state = nsw

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caption = Clarence Head lighthouse, Yamba
lga = Clarence Valley Council
postcode = 2464
est =
pop = 5,621
elevation= 29
maxtemp = 23.3
mintemp = 15.4
rainfall = 1452.3
stategov = Clarence
fedgov = Cowper
dist1 = 671
dir1 = NE
location1= Sydney
dist2 = 61
dir2 = NE
location2= Grafton
dist3 = 18
dir3 = E
location3= Maclean

Yamba is a town at the mouth of the Clarence River in New South Wales. The first European to visit the area was Matthew Flinders, who stopped by in Yamba Bay for six days in July 1799.cite web | last = The Port of Yamba Historical Society | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1996 | url = http://www.clarencetourism.com/pdffiles/yamba_hist_walk.pdf | title = Historical Walk around Yamba | format = pdf | work = | publisher = Clarence River Tourism | accessdate = 2006-12-21]

The town economy is strongly based on fishing and tourism, but has a diverse range of influences. Due to the 'Sea Change' phenomena and the large amount of baby boomers who are starting to retire to the warmer northern climates, Yamba is experiencing further growth particularly in service industries.

At the 2001 census, Yamba had a population of 5,621, Census 2001 AUS|id=UCL186400|name=Yamba (Urban Centre/Locality)|accessdate=2007-06-30|quick=on] but as a popular tourist destination, it can triple its population in the holiday period. At present the population is growing at a rate of 3% pa. Fact|date=May 2007

Port of Yamba

The Port of Yamba is one of two regional ports in New South Wales administered by the New South Wales Maritime Authority, the other is at Eden on the South Coast. Major exports from the port is timber. There are regular general cargo services from Yamba to Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and New Zealand. [cite web | year = 2006 | url = http://www.yamba.nsw.gov.au/ | title = Port of Yamba| work = New South Wales Regional Ports | publisher = New South Wales Maritime Authority | accessdate = 2006-12-14]

Culture

Yamba's cultural events are abundant and varied with everything from a monthly market to an annual Art and Culture festival called "Surfing the Coldstream". Please note that the "Surfing the Coldstream" Festival is becoming bi-annual.Fact|date=June 2007

Yamba has two pubs and two clubs, The Pacific Hotel and Yamba Shores Tavern; a Golf Club and a Bowling club all with regular live performances. The two local cinemas play the latest films and the odd selection of classical and sporting oriented films.

Beach and outdoor activities seem to dominate the culture Fact|date=May 2007 , and surfing, fishing and boating are also popular.

Infrastructure

The Information Technology infrastructure is considered rather poor Fact|date=May 2007 with only one internet cafe and no ADSL2 available due to technical constraints within the local telephone exchange.

Transport

Buses run through Yamba. The nearest airport is Grafton Airport (YGFN) and there is a private airstrip on Palmers Island, just outside Yamba.

Real Estate

Yamba is home to a large 7 real estate agents. These are: Elders, Mike Macqueen First National, PRD Nationwide, Professionals, L.J. Hooker, Ray White and Raine & Horne.

Etymology

There are two theories as to the meaning of Yamba, one being that it is the local Aboriginal word for "headland". However, J.S. Ryan, following R.L. Dawson's early "Recollections and Records of the Clarence Aborigines", believes the most likely derivation is an Aboriginal word "yumbah" meaning a rough edible shellfish the size of a man's hand that clings to rocks and is similar to an oyster. [cite web
url=http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=heritage.show&id=4310591
title=History of the Yamba Area
publisher=Yamba Centenary Committee
accessdate=2008-06-21
work=Keith Howland and Stuart Lee: "Yamba Yesterday; A Retrospective View: 1885-1985". 1985, First Edition. (ISBN: 0958969108)]

References