Ulong is a small village located on the

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region, situated 416km north of Sydney, covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens at Hawks Nest to as far ...

region, neighbouring the Northern Tablelands, of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It has a community hall, public school, cafe-post office and an Ex-services Club.

Facilities

The village is serviced by the Ulong Ex-services Club, cafe with rural transaction centre, and the Eastern Dorrigo Community Hall. The hall has camping facilities available with kitchen, BBQ and shower facilities available Timms Park is situated on Ulong Creek with a picnic area including tables, bins and a toilet. The land surrounding the park was donated to the community by LEH Timms.

Geography

The village lies inland from

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

by . Whilst a short distance, it takes 45 minutes to drive to, through the mountainous rainforest. Ulong is on the Eastern

Dorrigo Plateau The Dorrigo Plateau is a plateau in the Northern Tablelands and New England regions of New South Wales, Australia. The plateau forms part of the Great Dividing Range and is sometimes referred to as the Dorrigo and Guy Fawkes Plateau. The hig ...

and sits some . Like the neighbouring village of Lowanna, the climate is markedly different from Coffs Harbour. Ulong is known as the "Village in the Valley".

History

Once larger than Coffs Harbour, it was a centre for the timber industry. Dorrigo pine (''

Araucaria cunninghamii ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of ''Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist a ...

''), tallowwood ('' Eucalyptus microcorys''), blackbutt (''

Eucalyptus pilularis ''Eucalyptus pilularis'', commonly known as blackbutt, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, finely fibrous greyish bark on the lower half of the trunk, smooth white, grey or cream ...

'') and coachwood ('' Ceratopetalum apetalum'') were milled extensively via the Dorrigo railway line. There was gold in the hills too. Georges Gold Mine was open on occasion as a tourist attraction before its closure in 2007 Ulong is on the road to Nymboida River and borders two of its tributaries, the Little Nymbodia and Bobo Rivers. The Australian National series Enduro motorcycle Championships took place over two days in and around Ulong in 2007. On 9 September 2011 a special stage of the World Rally Championship was held in the area. These events make use of the roads within the extensive array of State and National parks in the area

Population

At the , Ulong had a population of 131 people. By 2016, the population increased to 233. Home of iconic actor Jack Thompson.

Climate

The region surrounding Ulong, especially the higher area, has a

Subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(''Cfb'') with warm, humid and wet summers and cool winters with frosty nights.

Notes and references

Mid North Coast Towns in New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub