Manilla (New South Wales)

Manilla is a small town (population 2,550 in 2016) in the New England region in New South Wales, Australia.

Understand
Manilla, on the junction of the Manilla River and the Namoi River, was a camping ground for the indigenous Kamilaroi people. During the 1850s, bullock teams supplying the outlying farms and the settlements of Bingara, Barraba and Bundarra were often delayed here when either or both of the rivers were in flood, and in 1853 an entrepreneur, George Verness, set up a store and wine shop to supply the teamsters. Wheat, sheep, and cattle farms are the main industries in the district. Manilla is a good base for fishing and paragliding.

By car
Manilla is on the B95 Fossickers Way (Manilla Road), 41 km north of Tamworth and 46 km south of Barraba.

Manilla is 66 km north-east of Gunnedah via Oxley Highway (B56), through Carroll, Rushes Creek road, pass Lake Keepit and Keepit Dam.

Manilla is 144 km south-west of Armidale via New England Highway (A15) (southbound), Uralla, Bendeemer, Moonbi, Kootingal, Nemingha, Oxley Highway (B56).

Driver rest areas
From south to north:



Trainlink NSW
A NSW Trainlink coach service runs between Inverell and Tamworth to catch the long-distance trains at Tamworth. Coaches to Tamworth stop opposite Rotary Park, and coaches to Inverell stop at Rotary Park.

Southbound coaches (Route 312) depart Inverell W-M at 6:30AM, departs Manilla at 9:26AM, and arrives at Tamworth at 10:06AM. Northbound coaches (Route 311) depart Tamworth W-M at 3:55PM, departs Manilla at 4:32PM, and arrives at Inverell at 7:15PM.

A map and timetable can be downloaded here.

Bookings are essential - Coach drivers do not take payment or offer reservations.

Tamworth Buslines
Tamworth Buslines run Bus Route 443 M-F to Manilla. This is a regional bus service, not a coach service - pay the driver with cash as you would a city bus service, exact fare preferred. One-way fares between Manilla and Tamworth are $5.90 for adults and $2.90 for children (4-15) and concession holders. The morning service to Manilla departs from The Atrium Shopping Centre in Kabel Avenue and arrives in Manilla at the Rotary Park at 11:58AM. The afternoon service departs from the corner of Brisbane Street and Kabel Avenue at 3:50PM, then departs from the Tamworth Railway Station at 3:55PM, and arrives at Manilla at the Rotary Park at 4:34PM.

The morning service to Tamworth departs from the Rotary Park in Manilla at 7:32AM, arrives at the Tamworth Railway Station at 8:13AM, and arrives at Adairs at the corner of Brisbane Street and Peel Street at 8:30AM. The afternoon service departs from the Rotary Park in Manilla at noon and arrives at the Atrium Shopping Centre in Kabel Avenue at 12:39PM.



By plane
Manilla is not serviced by any scheduled flights. The nearest airport with scheduled services is at Tamworth.

Get around
Private transport is essential, as there is neither a taxi service nor a local bus service in Manilla.

The nearest rental car agencies are in Tamworth.

Eat








Banks
There are no branches of the major banks in Manilla. Do your banking before departing for Manilla.



Go next

 * Barraba - north of Manilla: 46 km via Manilla Street/Manilla Road (B95) (northbound), pass the turn-off to Split Rock Dam Road on the right, pass the Lions Park rest area on the right and the Longarm Road turn-off on the left, pass the Barraba Silo Art on the left (31 min)
 * Bingara - north of Manilla: 107 km via Manilla Street/Manilla Road (B95) (northbound), through Barraba, continue ahead as Bingara Road/Cobbadah Road/B95 (1 hr 12 min)
 * Warialda - north of Manilla: 148 km via Manilla Street/Manilla Road (B95) (northbound), through Barraba, through Bingara, continue ahead on Allan Cunningham Road/B95, turn right onto the Gwydir Highway (1 hr 40 min). Junction with the Gwydir Highway - westbound to Moree, eastbound to Inverell, Glen Innes, and Grafton
 * Yetman - north of Manilla: 238 km via Manilla Street/Manilla Road (B95) (northbound), through Barraba, through Bingara, continue ahead on Allan Cunningham Road (B95), in Warialda turn left onto Stephen Street/Warialda Road (B95), through Coolatai, turn right onto the Bruxner Highway. Junction with the Bruxner Highway - westbound to Boggabilla and Goondiwindi, eastbound to Tenterfield.
 * Armidale - east of Manilla: 156 km via Manilla Street/Manilla Road (B95) (southbound), through Attunga, at Tamworth continue ahead on the Oxley Highway (B56), through Nemingha, through Kootingal, through Moonbi, through Bendemeer and continue ahead on the New England Highway (A15), through Uralla, at the roundabout turn right onto Uralla Road (B78), pass the National Arboretum on the right, turn left at the roundabout onto Dangar Street (B78) (1 hr 57 min).
 * Tamworth - south of Manilla: 46 km via Manilla Street/Manilla Road (B95) (southbound), through Attunga, through Oxley Vale (37 min)
 * Gunnedah - south-west of Manilla: 62 km via River Road (southbound), pass the Manilla Showgrounds on the right, continue ahead on Rushes Creek Road, pass Lake Keepit and Keepit Dam on the right, turn right onto the Oxley Highway (B56), through Carroll, turn right at the roundabout onto the Kamilaroi Highway/B56, continue through the next roundabout (47 min). Junction with the Kamilaroi Highway - nortbound to Boggabri, Narrabri, southbound to Quirindi
 * Boggabri - west of Manilla: 77 km via Charles street (westbound) then left into River Street, pass the intersection with Lloyd Street and continue ahead as Rangari Road, cross the Manilla River Bridge, through the intersections with Kelvin Road, turn left onto the Kamilaroi Highway (57 min). Junction with the Kamilaroi Highway - northbound to Narrabri, southbound to Gunnedah
 * Narrabri - north-west of Manilla: 126 km via Charles street (westbound) then left into River Street, pass the intersection with Lloyd Street and continue ahead as Rangari Road, cross the Manilla River Bridge, through the intersections with Kelvin Road, turn right onto the Kamilaroi Highway, pass through Baan Baa, turn right at the roundabout onto the Newell Highway (A39), continue through the next roundabout, cross the Namoi River bridge then the Narrabri Creek bridge (1 hr 31 min) Junction of the Newell Highway - south-west to Coonabarabran, north to Moree; and the Kamilaroi Highway - south-east to Gunnedah, north-west to Wee Waa, Burren Junction, and Walgett and the Castlereagh Highway.