Tingha (population 833 in 2016) is a village in the New England region in New South Wales, Australia.

Understand

Before non-indigenous settlement the area now known as Tingha was mainly lived upon by people from the Nucoorilma group, which is an associated group of the Murri Aboriginal people. Many of their descendants still live in the surrounding area. The name Tingha is an Aboriginal word for "flat or level (ground)".

Tingha was first settled in 1841 by Sydney Hudson Darby and became a mining town after tin was discovered there in the 1870s. Within 12 months Australia’s first commercial tin mines were operating. Around 5,000 people arrived and about 1,000 of the miners were Chinese.

The village was proclaimed a town in 1885. Initially there were enough readily accessible surface deposits to make a good living without using machinery as Chinese people did. By the early 1900s the mining boom was over and Tingha's population had dwindled to just a few hundred people.

Welcome to Tingha

Tourism information

• 1 Inverell Tourist Information Centre (Coach terminal), 11/31 Campbell Street, Inverell, ☏ +61 2 6728 8161, tourism@inverell.nsw.gov.au. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa Su 9AM-2PM. (updated Nov 2019)

Get in

By car

Tingha is 27 km south east of Inverell via Bundarra Road and Guyra Road, 64 km northwest of Guyra via Guyra Road, and 75 km southwest of Glen Innes via Gwydir Highway, Dodds Lane, Stannifer, and Guyra Road.

By coach

NSW Trainlink operates a rail coach that departs Tuesdays from Armidale at 5:50PM and arrives at Tingha at 6:48PM (Route 337), and departs Tuesdays from Inverell at 6:20AM and arrives at Tingha at 6:50AM (Route 338). The coach stop is in front of the Police Station in Opal Street. A timetable for the coach can be viewed here. Booking and payment in advance is essential.

• NSW Trainlink - regular bookings, ☏ +61 13 22 32. Daily 7AM-10PM. (updated Sep 2019)
• NSW Trainlink - multi-trip and Discovery Pass, ☏ +61 13 22 32. Daily 7AM-10PM. (updated Sep 2019)
• 2 Tingha - coach stop (outside the police station). 
• Inverell (Windsong Travel), 45 Byron Street (between Subway and Imperial Hotel), ☏ +61 2 6722 3011. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-noon. The coach does not stop here - it stops at the Inverell Visitor Information Centre (Transit Centre), 11-31 Campbell Street. (updated Sep 2019)
• Armidale (Railway Station), Brown Street, ☏ +61 13 22 32. M-F 7:30AM-3:30PM, Sa 7:30-11:30AM. (updated Sep 2019)
• Armidale (Flight Centre), Shop 3a, 108 Dangar Street, ☏ +61 2 6771 5474. M-F 9AM-5:30PM, Sa 9AM-noon. The coach does not stop here, it stops at the Railway Station. (updated Sep 2019)

By plane

The nearest airport is at Inverell (IVR ^IATA). Commercial flights are operated by Link Airways, with flights connecting Inverell to Brisbane and Sydney on weekdays.

• Inverell Taxis (Inverell Radio Cabs Co-op Ltd), ☏ +61 2 6722 3533. Taxi bookings must be made well before departure and upon arrival at the airport. Call in advance to enquire about fares to/from Tingha. (updated Nov 2019)

The nearest major airport with scheduled services is at Armidale (ARM ^IATA).

Get around

By rental car

The nearest car rental agencies are in Inverell, Glen Innes, and Armidale.

See

• 1 Stonewoman Aboriginal Area (9 km south of Tingha via New Valley Road, Kempton Road, Long Gully Road,). This area hold special cultural significance for the local Aboriginal people. Car parking. No facilities. 750 m walk to cultural site. No pets. No smoking. (updated Nov 2019)
• 2 Wing Hing Long Heritage Emporium, 10 Ruby Street (opposite Royal Hotel), ☏ +61 2 6723 3156. Tu Th Sa Sun and public holidays 10AM-3PM, other times by appointment. Former store established by a Chinese tin miner, now a museum on the NSW State Heritage Register. $3 per person. (updated Nov 2019)

Do

• 1 Copeton Dam (eastern shore), end of Howell Road (24 km west of Tingha on Howell Road). Camping (no fees), boating, fishing. Public toilets, rubbish bins, no other facilities (updated Nov 2019)
• Fossicking. (updated Nov 2019)
• 2 Green Valley Park, 161 Jones Road (11 km southeast of Tingha via New Valley Road), ☏ +61 2 6723 3370. Open daily except Christmas Day 9:30AM-5PM. Holiday and entertainment park. Day entry (excluding Christmas Day) as well as accommodation. $15 per person, $8 per senior, free for children under 2. (updated Nov 2019)
• Tingha Tin Festival. Celebrates the discovery of nearby tin which established the village. Held in November. (updated Nov 2019)

Buy

There are no ATMs in the village

• 1 Tingha Store & Newsagency, 21 Ruby Street (opposite Fire Brigade, next to Royal Hotel), ☏ +61 2 6723 3434. (updated Nov 2019)

Eat

• 1 Red Rose Cafe, 1/3 Ruby Street, ☏ +61 2 6723 3405. daily 8AM-7PM. (updated Nov 2019)

Drink

• 1 Royal Hotel, 15 Ruby Street (corner of Ruby and Zircon Streets), ☏ +61 2 6723 3417. (updated Nov 2019)

Sleep

• 1 Green Valley Park, 161 Jones Road (11 km southeast of Tingha via New Valley Road), ☏ +61 2 6723 3015. Holiday and entertainment park. Day entry (excluding Christmas Day) as well as accommodation. (updated Nov 2019)
• Royal Hotel, 15 Ruby Street (corner Ruby and Zircon Streets), ☏ +61 2 6723 3417. Phone for rates and availability 
• 2 Tingha Gems Caravan Park, 91 Swimming Pool Road (1.4 km north of Tingha via Guyra Road and Swimming Pool Road), ☏ +61 2 6723 3234, bookings@tinghagems.com. (updated Nov 2019)

Cope

Emergency

• 3 Police Station, corner Opal and Ruby Streets (opposite the petrol station), ☏ +61 2 6723 3444. Not open 24 hours (updated Nov 2019)
• 4 Tingha Multipurpose Service Hospital, 13997 Guyra Road (northern outskirts of Tingha), ☏ +61 2 6723 3266. (updated Nov 2019)

Fuel

• 5 Tingha Independent, 2 Opal Street (corner of Opal and Ruby Streets), ☏ +61 2 6723 3555. M-F 7AM-6PM, Sa Su 7AM-4PM. (updated Nov 2019)

Public telephones

• corner of Opal and Ruby Streets (next to petrol station). (updated Nov 2019)

Public toilets

• Tingha Fire Brigade, 20 Ruby Street. Open daylight hours. Wheelchair access. (updated Nov 2019)
• Symes Park, Opal Street (between Sapphire and Amethyst Streets). Open 24 hours. (updated Nov 2019)
• Tingha Cemetery, 21 Garnet Street (southern end of Sapphire Street). Open 24 hours (updated Nov 2019)

Go next

• Glen Innes - 75 km northeast of Tingha via Guyra Road, Old Mill Road, Stannifer Road, Elsmore Road (turn right), Dodds Lane, Gwydir Highway (turn right) (1 hr 3 min)
• Guyra - 64 km southeast of Tingha via Guyra Road (41 min); 63 km southwest of Tingha via New Valley Road, Moreduns Dams Road, Tenterden Road, Guyra Road (56 min)
• Armidale - 101 km southeast of Tingha via Guyra Road, Guyra, New England Highway (1 hr 7 min)
• Tamworth - 196 km south of Tingha via Thunderbolts Way, Guyra, New England Highway (2 hr 15 min)
• Bundarra - 35 km southwest of Tingha via Howells Road, Thunderbolts Way (turn left) (26 min)
• Barraba - 104 km southwest of Tingha via Howells Road, Thunderbolts Way (turn left), Bundarra, Barraba Road, Gulf Creek Road, McIntyre Road, Woodsreef Road (turn right), B95 (turn left) (1 hr 36 min)
• Bingara - 95 km west of Tingha via Guyra Road, Bundarra Road, Inverell, Gwydir Highway, Delungra Bypass Road, Bingara Road (1 hr 10 min)
• Inverell - 27 km north of Tingha via Guyra Road, Bundarra Road (22 min)