Manilla is a small town in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, located on Fossickers Way 45 kilometres northwest of the regional city of Tamworth and 27 kilometres northeast of the historic village

Somerton Somerton may refer to: Places Australia * Somerton, New South Wales * Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb ** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach * Somerton, Victoria ...

. Manilla is famous for its setting as a fishing and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

area. The name Manilla comes from the

Gamilaraay The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

language, and is said to mean 'winding river'. Manilla was established in the 1850s at the junction of the

Namoi River The Namoi River, a major perennial river that is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia. The Namoi River rises on the west ...

and the

Manilla River Manilla River, a perennial stream that is part of the Namoi catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales, Australia. The stream (called a river) rises south–west of Barraba on ...

. It was formerly the centre of Manilla Shire

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

, but this was amalgamated with Tamworth City Council and portions of Parry, Barraba and Nundle Shire Councils to form

Tamworth Regional Council Tamworth Regional Council is a local government area in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located adjacent to the New England Highway and the Main North railway line. It was established in Ma ...

in 2004. It lies next to the

Bundarra-Barraba Important Bird Area The Bundarra-Barraba Important Bird Area lies in the Northern Tablelands of north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is important for the conservation of the endangered regent honeyeater and is classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) ...

which is important for the conservation of the critically endangered

regent honeyeater The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive eff ...

. Manilla is also well known for

Split Rock Dam Split Rock Dam is a minor ungated concrete faced rock fill embankment dam with concrete chute spillway across the Manilla River upstream of Manilla in the north-western slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes ...

on the

and Lake Keepit on the

Services

*Bowling Club *Caravan Park *Royal Hotel *Ambleside B&
Ambleside
*Motel *Police Station *Post Office *Swimming Pool *Sportsground *Tennis Courts *War Memorial Hall, Library and Pre-School *Fuel Station & Caf
North Store – Manilla

History

The junction of the Manilla and Namoi Rivers was for generations, a camping ground for the local indigenous people, members of the large

Kamilaroi The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

(Gamilaraay) tribes of northwestern New South Wales. During the 1850s, teamsters with bullock waggons were regularly transporting goods from the Hunter District through the Manilla area to outlying cattle stations and the northern goldfield settlements of Bingara and Bundarra. Teams were often delayed at the junction of the Namoi and Manilla Rivers by high water. In 1853, enterprising Englishman George Veness arrived at ‘The Junction’ to set up a store and wine shop at the teamsters’ camping ground. In doing so, Veness led the way to town settlement and is acknowledged as the Founder of Manilla. The town's early prosperity was founded on the highly productive wheat and pastoral industries. Manilla also features a new library centre. Located within the Tamworth Regional Council office in the main street of Manilla, the library is a new type of facility which is known globally as a convergence centre. This means there are many facilities on offer including Centrelink Agency, the Manilla Book Club, a free weekly Storytime for preschool aged children and many other community activities. Australian singer-songwriter

Darren Hanlon Darren Hanlon is an Australian singer-songwriter from Gympie, Queensland. Prior to becoming a solo artist in 1999, Hanlon was a member of Lismore, New South Wales, Lismore indie rock band The Simpletons, with whom he released four albums and s ...

immortalised the town of Manilla in his song 'Manilla NSW' which appeared on his 2006 record, 'Fingertips and Mountaintops'. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Manilla had a population of 2,081, while in the there were 2,550 people.

Rugby League and Dally Messenger

In July 1917

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...

and his wife, Annie, took over the Royal Hotel in Manilla. Shortly after his arrival Dally established the Manilla Rugby League Club. This was difficult as there was a strong Rugby Union Team and many other young men were at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

or other theatres of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

His original team included Jack Hiscox, Roy Blanch, Frank and Norman Chapman, Jack Munro and Ivan Miller. Dally played some games but was more concerned, as coach, into forming these local young men into a quality team. In 1918 in the knockout competition held in Tamworth, Manilla defeated Quirindi 10-6 and Tamworth 14 nil. In June 1919 Both Dally and Annie caught the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

pandemic. Dally recovered but tragically Annie died on 23 June 1919 and is buried in the Manilla cemetery. On 23 August 1919 Dally returned to Sydney with his five year old son (Dally II). Marking the history on the very day of its formation, 8 July 2017, the Manilla Rugby League club under captain Coach Mitch Doring celebrated its 100th anniversary (2017) of formation with a hard fought match against the Bendemeer Mountain Men whom they defeated 34-30. Guests of honour at the celebratory dinner afterwards included Dally Messenger’s grandsons Ken and

, and great grandchildren Cameron Dally Messenger and Genevieve Ann Messenger.

Heritage listings

Manilla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Tamworth-Barraba railway:

Manilla railway underbridges The Manilla railway underbridges are two heritage-listed railway bridges located on the Tamworth-Barraba railway line in the town of Manilla in the Tamworth Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The underbridg ...

Aviation sports

In recent years, Manilla has become famous throughout the world as a major sports flying centre supporting

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

,Fly Manilla
flymanilla.com.

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

gyrocopters An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

and gliders (sailplanes).Lake Keepit Soaring Club
Gliding at Lake Keepit. It boasts nearby Mt Borah, one of the world's best paraglider and hang glider launch sites. In 1998 local paragliding instructor and developer of Mt Borah, Godfrey Wenness, gained the world distance record with a flight of . Major free-flight competitions are staged annually during the summer months. The 10th FAI Paragliding World Championships were held at the site in 2007, attended by 150 pilots from 41 nations. In the week prior to the event Manilla was in the headlines around the world for the survival of paraglider pilot Ewa Wiśnierska of Germany who was sucked up into a thunderstorm to . The dramatic story was made into a TV documentary ''Miracle in the Storm'' which won an

AFI award The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

and was nominated for a

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

Notable residents

Henry Burrell Henry (Harry) James Burrell OBE (19 January 1873 – 29 July 1945) was an Australian naturalist who specialised in the study of monotremes. He was the first person to successfully keep the platypus in captivity and was a lifelong collector ...

(1873–1945), an amateur naturalist, photographer & film-maker, began unlocking the secrets of the

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...

. *

Stan Coster Stan Coster OAM (27 May 193025 March 1997) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. His songs were regularly performed by Slim Dusty and other singers. He is the father of country music singer Tracy Coster. Early life Stan Coster was ...

(27 May 1930 – 25 March 1997), an Australian country music singer-songwriter. *

Tracy Coster Tracy Coster is an Australian country music singer and songwriter. She was born on 12 April 1966. Her father, Stan Coster, was an acknowledged songwriter. Early life It is hard to determine the time Tracy Coster started her career. She was born ...

, Australian country music artist, daughter of

(above) *

Fiona Coote Fiona Coote was Australia's youngest heart transplant recipient when she underwent surgery at the age of 14 on 8 April 1984. While Coote was the fourth transplant recipient in Australia, she is only the second to survive for a significant period ...

, aged 14, in 1994 became Australia's second and also its youngest heart transplant recipient. *Anna Henderson, an ABC News journalist. *Gavin Coote, an ABC News journalist ManillaRoyalHotel

(1883–1959), a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He came to Manilla in 1917 and held the licence of The Royal Hotel. * Rod Coote, an Australian indie-pop music singer-songwriter *

Harry M. Miller Harry Maurice Miller (6 January 1934 – 4 July 2018) was a New Zealand Australian promoter, publicist and media agent. Life and career Born on 6 January 1934 in New Zealand, Miller grew up in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn. He moved to Aus ...

, entrepreneur, bought the Manilla property "Dunmore" in the 1970s. * John Quayle, Australian former

CEO, began playing rugby league with Manilla as a boy. *Anne Rouen, an historical fiction author. *Godfrey Wenness ASM (1967), paragliding pilot and instructor, developed the Mt Borah airsports facility and school in 1994. Guinness Book of World Records for the longest flight in a paraglider in 1998 (335 km). Australian Sports Medal (2000).

Notes and references

External links

More History
– Manilla Museum Website {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in New England (New South Wales) North West Slopes Tamworth Regional Council