BARRABA
Barraba is a small service town
encounted when traveling the Tamworth to Warialda Rd; a commonly used
back route to Qld. Barraba is a nice, friendly and colourful town.
Heritage factors are clearly important, with preservation and
promotion of the ‘old’ buildings being active. Barraba has had ebb and
flow mining industry.  
Barraba station
was taken up in 1838. Its name derives from an Aboriginal term, said
to mean 'camp by the riverbank'. In the mid-1840s Scotsman John McKid
opened the first store on the future town site which was surveyed in
1852.
Later in the
decade gold was discovered in the area at Woods reef, Ironbark Creek
and Crow Mountain. Woods reef became a vital village at this time but
virtually disappeared when the gold was exhausted in the late 1860s.
Asbestos was
first mined at Woods reef from 1919-1923. However, it was not until
1972 that a large open-cut asbestos mine was opened there, furnishing
much local employment, although it closed down in the 1980s. Diatomite
mining began north of Barraba in 1982. The area is also rich in
chromite, fireclays, gold, limestone, magnesite, copper, chalk and
quartz.
There are a
number of old ‘preserved’ buildings in Barraba.       
The Catholic
Church and
the Anglican
 were
built in 1960. The
Anglican looks older but the dedication date is in the 1960’s. The
United
and Salvation Army
are
undated.
The Barraba
Museum is in the southern end of the town.
The Barraba War
Memorial is represented with the central town clock.
There
is also small memorial for more recent conflicts.
Barraba has two
very old trading classic pubs. 
But the Play House Hotel
has
been converted to a theatre and restaurant.
There is a case
to stay awhile when visiting Barraba. This is a very friendly place.
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