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 Tenterfield would have been happy to quietly to rest on the side of the New England Highway until Peter Allen outed it with his massive worldwide hit, ‘Tenterfield Saddler’.
Though the ‘Father of Federation’, Sir Henry Parkes, can take credit for putting Tenterfield on the map within Australia, it is through Peter Allen’s talents that Tenterfield was thrust onto the international stage. Allen’s melancholy words, “Time is a traveller, Tenterfield saddler turn your head”, have echoed around the world. The song has been covered by the best of them and re-released and re-discovered by new generation through The Boy from Oz musical.
Of course, Peter was a friend of Dorothy long before he met the Judy Garland, who it seems was destined to become his mother-in-law. It’s no wonder the boy turned out to be ‘Bi-Coastal’. Today, a larger-than-life cut-out portrait of Allen graces the Tenterfield Tourism and Visitor Information Centre, which also features memorabilia from Allen’s heyday, including the maracas from the famous video for ‘I Go to Rio’.
Other than producing founding fathers and swishy songwriters, Tenterfield also produces some of Australia’s top wines. Some vine stocks can be traced back over 70 years. Vineyards once surrounded the Historic Stannum House, which holds a commanding position overlooking the town. I was lucky to get a personal tour through this three-storey Victorian Italianate pile, which boasts a dining room, a couple of lounge rooms, seven bedrooms, a balcony and mega-multi-marble fire places. The latter are very handy indeed, as the weather channel regularly names Tenterfield as the coldest town in New South Wales.
 Reconditioned to some of its former glory, a series of staircases (including a grand spiral) will take you to a rooftop observation platform that provides commanding views down the main street of the town. Inside, there’s an impressive stained-glass window said to have been relocated from England. Now a magnificent bed and breakfast, you too can enjoy this opulent room with the best view in town.
Thanks to sponsorship from Tenterfield Tourism, my accommodation was the historic Deloraine, which in past lives was an inn, a church, a school and a restaurant. Now it is a B&B. Like Stannum House, the Deloraine also features large open fires. I stayed in a big brass bed in a cosy cabin with all facilities. Set in a cottage garden, the area is a haven for parrots and lorikeets. The Deloraine is just a short wander to the shops and School of Arts Museum. In fact it’s close to everything and provides off-street parking away from the New England Highway.
At the other end of town, the Old Tenterfield Power Station is now the home of Forest to Furniture Design studio and gallery. If you’re looking to purchase something different to take home it should be here (Wednesdays to Sundays from 10am-5pm). Just up the street a bit we found the historic Tenterfield Railway Station. Once a proud winner of many NSW Railway garden competitions, the station now hosts a farmers’ market every two months. It was here I met Ima Furphy, who gave me a first-class Tenterfield-to-Armidale train ticket, a replica of the ticket Peter Allen could have used on his travel on that yellow brick road out of Oz and on to stardom.
www.tenterfield.com
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