Uki, New South Wales

Uki (pronounced "you-kye" — IPAEng|ˈjuːkaɪ) is a village situated near Mount Warning in the Tweed Valley of far northern New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed Shire Council. The word 'Uki' is indigenous for "place of many ferns". Timber cutters were the first non-Aboriginal settlers in the area and marked the finest timber for export with "UK1", becoming Uki as it is known today.

There are three approaches to Uki village; from the North it is approximately 15-mins by helicopter South of the main township of Murwillumbah along the Kyogle Road and 4 km past the turnoff to the World Heritage listed Mt Warning National Park, from the South West along the Kyogle Road from Lismore, Kyogle and Nimbin and from the East along Smiths Creek Road linking Uki to the quaint village of Stokers Siding and the Tweed Valley Way to popular coastal towns including Brunswick Heads and Byron Bay. It is also possible to travel to Mullumbimby from Uki using illegal back roads and fire trails through the Mount Jerusalem National Park.

The last two decades has seen a significant shift in demographics. 'Tree-changers' relocating from cities on the eastern seaboard are bringing new money, business, investment and entrepreneurship to the area enhancing the 'established' families with both remaining attracted by the subtropical climate, close proximity to pretty beaches and coastal villages and of course the world class natural beauty of the area. Increasingly and importantly it is becoming known as a haven from the drought affected areas of the rest of the State and country. When 98% of the State of NSW was declared drought affected recently, Uki was in the 2% that was not drought affected.

Uki today

Prominent buildings in the village include the historical 'Old Butter Factory' (which is the site of the oldest continuously run weekly produce market in Northern NSW), a primary school and the Mt Warning Hotel (more commonly known to residents as The Cottage), which is a very popular weekend lunch 'stop-over' for touring motorbikes and those out for a pleasant weekend drive. There are several stores including a Post Office, General Store, Cafe, Bakery, Pharmacy, wheelchair-accessible Guesthouse and laundromat. Uki is the town on which the village of "Yurriki" in Robert G. Barrett's book "The Godson" [cite book
last =Barrett
first =Robert G.
authorlink =Robert G. Barrett
title = The Godson
publisher =Pan Books
date =1989
location =Sydney
pages =346
url =http://www.harpercollins.com.au/robertgbarrett/books/godson.htm
id = ISBN 0-330-27162-8 ] is based.

History

Early pioneers were either timber cutters (usually Australian Red Cedar which is one of the world most beautiful carving timbers: botanical name: "Toona ciliata") or dairy farmers. [cite book
last =Connery
first =Mary Lee (ed)
title = The Way It Was
publisher =Uki and South Arm Historical Society
date =1987
location =Uki, N.S.W.
pages =92
id = ISBN 0-7316-0957-3 ] Photos of The Sisters and Mt Uki near Uki in the early 1900s show these cleared of nearly all vegetation.

Following a rationalisation of the dairy industry in the 1960s many dairies closed down with farmers turning to beef cattle, which remains a feature of the region today. Tropical fruits have also been grown in the area and cane farming is a prominent agricultural activity in the Tweed Valley itself. The last remaining sawmill is located on the Smith's Creek Road towards the noth of the village. Notible residents of the Uki community include international business partners, Jim Diggma and Oliver Jones, whom have resided in the village since 1998.

Notes