Coffs Harbour sits on the North Coast of
NSW, about 300 km south of the
Queensland border and about 600 km north of the NSW capital
Sydney.
It has a population of about 60,000 which doubles to 120,000 during the
Christmas holiday season.
Tourism is the city/town's main industry, you see. Before that, it was bananas. Before
bananas it was
timber, namely,
red cedar.
An oversized sculpture of a banana (modelled on a 'prize-winning' banana. Geez, give me a break) honors the success of Coffs Harbour's banana industry (which is still going, but slowly dying), and somehow attracts myriad tourists. Well, it is the largest herb in the world you know. Maybe I'm biased because I drive past this
eyesore every day, but it's not
that impressive.
Trust me.
Originally Coffs Harbour was Korff's Harbour, named after its discoverer Captain John Korff. However, a simple spelling error changed all that. Recently, Coffs Harbour was awarded 'the most liveable city in Australia.' To tell you the truth, I have no idea why. The best thing about Coffs is its climate, which is why it is such a frightfully popular tourist destination.
Coffs is home to the
Shine piano genius
David Helfgott,
Gladiator star
Russell Crowe (who was recently married here), the lead singer of
Grinspoon, and Australian acting legend
Jack Thompson.