The Westpac Bank Building

Casino
Pleasant country town on the banks of the Richmond River
Located 726 km north of Sydney and 228 km south of Brisbane, Casino is a pleasant country town on the Richmond River. It has a large number of interesting historic buildings. It is also a major service centre for the rich pasture lands which surround it. The annual rainfall is 1107 mm.

Prior to European settlement the Casino district was part of the lands inhabited by the Bundjalung Aborigines. It is unclear how many of the group lived around Casino although one report, dating from 1840, talks about a gathering of a 'mob of wild blacks numbering five hundred or upwards'. The Bundjalung spread across the area and their territory reached as far north as Toowoomba and included the modern-day towns of Tenterfield and Warwick. One of the annual rituals of the Bundjalung people was the movement to the coast during the winter months when the mullet were plentiful. The inland peoples from around Casino brought black bean seeds with them to trade for the fish.

The first European to discover the mouth of the Richmond River was Captain Henry John Rous who in 1828 identified the mouth of the river as he sailed along the coast from Sydney Town to Moreton Bay. Rous entered the river and sailed about 20 miles (32 km) up river. He subsequently named the river Richmond after the fifth Duke of Richmond. Later that year the explorer Allan Cunningham reached the river by land. Remarkably no one in Sydney seemed terribly interested and it wasn't until 1838 that a group of cedar cutters entered the lower Richmond Valley. It was around this time that Henry Clay and George Stapleton took up land along the Richmond River. Stapleton had cut a path down to the coast from Glen Innes and, with Clay, he purchased cattle. The two men eventually reached the Richmond Valley where they claimed 30,000 acres. They named their property 'Cassino' which was named after the beautiful town of Monte Cassino in Italy.

By 1842 cedar cutters were in the lower reaches of the Richmond Valley near Pelican Creek. Over the next decade the whole of the valley was settled and by 1849 there were more than 20 squatters and a significant number of cedar-cutters who were shipping their timber to Sydney.

The first evidence of a settlement (the beginnings of a town) occurs at a place known as 'The Falls' in the early 1850s. It is known that Petty Sessions were being held in the valley as early as 1847 and that a postmaster was employed in early 1849. By 1853 Assistant Surveyor W. Darke had surveyed a site for a village and that same year both a General Store and a Hotel - the Durham Ox Inn - were built in what is now Richmond Street. Later that year a policeman arrived in 'The Falls' and the following year a bark hut was built which became the Court House.

In 1855 the Surveyor General, Sir Thomas Mitchell, declared the need for a town in the valley with suburban allotments and a proper subdivision. This was the site of 'The Falls' which was renamed Casino. Why the spelling was changed from Cassino no one knows? It was in 1855 that the town was officially gazetted.

By 1857 a private school had been opened (it catered for 15 students) on the bank of the Richmond River near where the Irving Bridge stands. A doctor arrived two years later and in the same year (1859) a second hotel, Tattersalls, was opened.

In 1861 the town saw the opening of the first Public School and the population had grown to a point where there was a mail delivery once a week. Still this was hardly a thriving country town. Robert Dawson, who arrived in the area in 1870, described it as 'a drab little village though there were some buildings of fair pretensions' and observed that 'roads were almost non-existent, only rough bush tracks being available' and that 'nowhere on the Richmond were there any banks, churches, newspapers or telegraph lines'.

The next few years were to see this rather sad village turned into a town. In June 1870 the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney established a local branch. By December of that year the 'Richmond River Express and Tweed Advertiser' was being published and in 1871 a Police Magistrate and Telegraph Office arrived. In 1876, after years of construction, a bridge across the Richmond River was completed.

Between the 1870s and the 1890s the town competed for importance with Lismore and by the 1890s Lismore was clearly the more important of the town centres. By 1905 the railway had arrived but the town had already positioned itself as a service centre for the surrounding rich agricultural lands.

Today Casino calls itself 'The Beef Capital'. It has an official Beef Week which is held each May - the 'week' actually lasts for 12 days. With a population of around 12,000 it is a thriving rural centre which relies heavily on the region's cattle industry combined with the importance of the local timber industry. To appreciate the scale of the local cattle industry it is worth noting that over 120,000 head of cattle are sold at the Casino Livestock Selling Centre each year.

Things to see:  

A Heritage Walk
If you start at the Casino Museum in Walker Street the following route will take you past most of the important buildings in the town. It is a walk which can be achieved in 40 minutes or, if you care to walk slower, you could easily spend a couple of hours.

Casino Museum
The Casino Museum has an interesting collection of local memorabilia. Of particular interest are the old gazogenes or syphons for making flavoured soda water. It has a substantial collection of antiques, photographs of early Casino, Aboriginal artefacts, household items from colonial times and farming equipment.. The Museum was opened in 1965 and is staffed by volunteers from the Casino & District Historical Society. It is open from 2.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday and from 10.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. on Sundays. It can be opened by appointment. Contact (02) 6662 3685.

The Court House

Court House
There is some dispute about the dating of the Casino Court House. The official register records this attractive brick building, which is hidden behind some mature and graceful camphor laurel trees, as being constructed in 1861 but Maurice Ryan's book 'Casino: From Crossing Place to Municipality' claims that while the town did have a court house in the early 1860s that the present building was completed in 1882 and replaced an old timber building which had outlived its usefulness. Certainly the current building is an important part of the town's landscape.

Parks
Head down to the River. One of Casino's great attractions are the parks which line the Richmond River. There is the Memorial park with its cairn (just upstream from the Irving Bridge - the main bridge across the river) commemorating the crossing of the Richmond River by Europeans in 1840. There is a single sheet brochure titled 'Let's Take a Stroll Along Our River Bank Parks' which is available from the Tourist Information Office. It outlines a pleasant 3 km walk along the banks of the Richmond River which is designed to last about 1 hour.

Platypus Pool
It is always worth mentioning that I once had an editor who told me that if I could find a place where the platypus could be seen in the wild by every visitor he was happy to run it as a front page story. The animal is notoriously shy and the best that can be hoped for is that with patience and a little luck the visitor may get to see these strange creatures. The Platypus Pool at Casino is located below the Manyweathers Weir (a block west of Centre Street).

St Marks Church of England
Built in 1904 and completed in July, 1905 this church replaced the original Church of England, a timber building which was built in 1871.

Cecil Hotel
From St Marks Church head back to Centre Street. On the corner of Barker Street and Centre Street is the Cecil Hotel. It is a significant local hotel dating from 1919 when it was moved to its present site from its original position in Walker Street. It was cut into sections and hauled by bullock teams. Historically it has a reputation as the town's 'cattleman's pub'.

St Marys Catholic Church
Continue up Centre Street to the next intersection. St Marys was completed in 1939 and opened in 1941 by the Bishop of Lismore.

Post Office
Return to Barker Street and head east. Located in Barker Street this two-storey brick building, with some fine Classical detailing, was completed in 1879 although there has been a history of major alterations. The original building provided an office, four rooms, a kitchen and a stable. There was no fence and no bathroom. It has been altered and extended in 1893 and 1915. It is still an impressive country post office.

Commercial Hotel
Further along Barker Street is the Commercial Hotel. Constructed in 1869 and renovated in 1890 this is one of the town's premier hotels. It is now recognised as the second oldest business house in Casino. A pub with a rich heritage.

Tattersalls Hotel
A little further along Barker Street is the Tattersalls Hotel which was established in 1859 and consequently is Casino's oldest extant business. It was built by the local mail contractor, John Brown, and over the past 140 years has seen the town change from a dirt bullock track to the modern centre it is today. From Tattersalls return to the Museum.

Richmond Park Sanctuary (Jabiru Geneebeinga Wetlands)
Head north out of town on the West Street. When you pass the Casino Golf Course turn right and you will get to Richmond Park. Richmond Park Wetlands and Sanctuary are a home for a rich variety of birds including jabirus, egrets, ducks and black swans.

Casino Mini Railway
The Pacific Coast Railway Society Inc. offers a miniature train trip every weekend. The trips are 25 minutes long and groups gather at the corner of West Street and Queensland Road every Sunday between 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. For further information contact (02) 6663 3319.

Aboriginal Rock Carvings
Take the Tenterfield Road (the Bruxner Highway) out of town and 20 km out of Casino turn right to Dryaaba. The carvings, you will have to look carefully, are located only about 200 metres on the right.

Driving in the Area
Casino Tourist Information Office has a number of sheets of recommended drives in the local area. They are as follows:

Tourist Drive 1:
Broadwater-Evans Head-Woodburn-New Italy. This is a 32 km drive which is estimated to take 4 hours. It includes river and seaside townships, national parks and scenic lookouts.

Tourist Drive 2:
New Italy-Bungawalbin Creek-Whiporie-Neiley's Lagoon-Coraki. This drive of 130 km which takes about a day is described as going from 'New Italy's cultural and Aboriginal centre then on through quiet paperbark forests and tea tree plantations, providing opportunities for secluded picnics, fishing, canoeing or photography'.

Tourist Drive 3:
Hogarth Range-Mallanganee Lookout-Mt Pikepene-Rappville-Casino. This drive of 134 km which takes about a day is described as taking you 'to cooling restful state forests, spectacular views, diverse landscapes, historic sites and charming old world villages where you can enjoy some genuine country hospitality'.

Tourist Drive 4:
Devils Pulpit-Doubleduke-State Forests-Pyrocarpa-New Italy. This drive of 52 km which takes about half a day is described as 'a 4WD tour which explores three largely untouched state forests, with rare and abundant wildlife and vegetation, before travelling on to Bungawalbin Creek and the culturally unique New Italy Museum'.

Tourist Drive 5:
Springrove-Naughton's Gap-Bentley-Fairy Hill-Casino. This drive of 45 km which takes about 2 hours 'takes you through some of the north coast's most lush and scenic landscapes, with majestic views across farmlands, orchards and wetlands'.

	Tourist Information
	Casino Tourist Information Centre cnr Centre & Richmond Sts Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 3566
	Motels
	Casino Motor Inn 91 Tenterfield Rd Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1777 Facsimile: (02) 6662 6223 Rating: ***1/2
	Clydesdale Motel Cnr Johnson & Kent Sts Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 5982 Facsimile: (02) 6662 5997 Rating: ***
	Clydesdale Motel Cnr Johnson & Kent Sts Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 5982 Facsimile: (02) 6662 5997 Rating: ***
	River Park Motor Inn 123 Centre St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 2999 Facsimile: (02) 6662 6662 Rating: ***1/2
	Squatters Homestead Motel 161 Centre St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 3888 Facsimile: (02) 6662 7377 Rating: ***
	Hotels
	Cecil Hotel Centre St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1047
	Commonwealth Hotel Walker St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1145
	Oxford Hotel 161 Walker St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1031
	Royal Motel/Hotel 130 Walker St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1146
	The Commercial Hotel 140 Walker St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1007
	Caravan Parks
	Brown¹s Caravan Park Tenterfield Rd Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1840 Facsimile: (02) 6662 8840 Rating: **1/2
	Glen Villa Caravan Park Johnston St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1572 Rating: **
	Restaurants
	Casino Motor Inn Restaurant Tenterfield Rd Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1777
	Colonnades Restaurant 162 Canterbury St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1666
	Fairway Chinese Restaurant Casino Golf Club Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 3459
	Greenhouse Restaurant Bruxner Hwy Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 1777
	Hong Kong Restaurant 115 Walker St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 2633
	Mun Tien Restaurant 114 Walker St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 2130
	River park Motor Inn 123 Centre St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 2999 Facsimile: (02) 6662 6662
	Cafés
	Mediano Cafe Brasserie 100 Barker St Casino NSW 2470 Telephone: (02) 6662 4994