Ask an expert. Ask us. Ask a local.
Manning Regional Art Gallery is a designated Visitor Information Point staffed by friendly locals who know all the secret spots to have you living like a local in no time. Here you’ll find more than just information… you’ll get ideas to make your stay even better than expected.
Our visitor information points are located at Manning Regional Art Gallery, Myall Community Art & Craft Centre, Wingham Museum and Yalawanyi Ganya.
The arts are an essential component of a healthy community. It doesn’t need to be lofty or “worthy”, it can be as primal and simple as a fantastic set delivered by a tight band live on stage, or a simple piece of art that makes a connection with the viewer.
The centrepiece of the arts in the Manning Valley is Manning Regional Art Gallery, which is open Tuesday to Saturday and showcases emerging and established artists, group and solo shows and high profile touring shows.
An essential part of the Gallery’s vision is to present art to the audience which is reflective of our community. The presenting artists explore diverse themes including aboriginal cultural stories of the area, reflections of the local landscapes and personal and artistic journeys.
Manning Regional Art Gallery is part of the Regional Galleries of Australia, a unique association of galleries that demonstrates the great love regional Australians have for the visual arts. It’s no secret that artists tend to thrive in areas with a regional gallery, and you’ll usually find some fine food, good coffee and regional specialty produce from local suppliers near the galleries.
In town you can also shop at other galleries and boutique stores and enjoy fresh local produce at cafes, pubs and riverside restaurants.
If you’re looking for ideas for spending a whole day in Taree, then check out these Taree town traveller suggestions.
And if you have more time, follow the Barrington Coast Arts Trail to further indulge your love of artistic expression across our region.
Ask the helpful staff at Manning Regional Art Gallery for their recommendations, and about upcoming events that may interest you: TasteFest on the Manning, Powerboats Spectacular, Taree Envirofair, Wingham Music Festival and Manning River Dragon Boat Regatta … just to name a few.
Suggested itineraries from Taree
Looking for culture:
Shop for indigenous art and jewellery by local Biripi and Worimi artists at Deep Water Shark Gallery, a family operated Aboriginal art gallery. Stock up on all things art at Nadia’s Art Gallery and Gifts, join a workshop there or even rent some space for your own exhibition. Local artists are also on display at Taree Craft Cottage and Café for artworks, crafts and one-of-a-kind gifts.
Artisans On The Hill at nearby Mondrook combines onsite accommodation with a gallery to view and purchase artisan crafts, or you can join a workshop to create your own functional and artistic pieces.
Cultural expression of all types can be found at Manning Entertainment Centre, including live shows, cinematic shows and exhibitions at the adjacent Beryl Jane Flett Studio. Great entertainment transports you into a headspace of emotion, memory and heart, and you’ll be sure to find something on the ever-changing program that suits your tastes.
There’s also a small gallery in the foyer of Yalawanyi Ganya (“the house of the meeting place”) with exhibitions that change regularly, and keep an eye out for free live performances on the Manning Riverstage. This is a great place to relax while you enjoy a picnic spread on the grassy banks of the mighty Manning River.
Looking for history:
If you’re already in Taree you can take a self-guided walk though Taree's history with two easy walking itineraries. Combining both walks is 5.7 km and takes around 2.5 hours depending how much you dawdle. But take your time and you'll uncover 20 places of historic interest, so make sure you stop often to enjoy the vistas and streetscapes of this town built on the commercial strength of the mighty Manning River.
Just across the river, more history can be found at Tinonee, the Manning River’s first port. In the years when the rivers were the roads, Tinonee was the heart of the Manning River where majestic sailing ships were an everyday sight as the new township buzzed with commerce and industry. Visit the Tinonee Museum, originally built as a broom factory, that also has the original police gaol cell and police stables on its grounds. The museum is run by volunteers, actively keeping our history and heritage alive for future generations.
Further upstream at the highest navigable point of the Manning River is the historic town of Wingham, home to Wingham Museum. The museum was opened in 1968 by Australia’s great aviator Nancy Bird Walton and the historic building was the town’s first general store. As the primary keeping place of local culture and heritage in the Manning Valley, Wingham Museum is the custodian of a large collection of artefacts representing all facets of life here, with over 10,000 items in 500 square metres of exhibition space: fashion, textiles and crafts, natural history, Aboriginal culture and history, domestic life, industries, agriculture and farming, the Manning River, transport and communication, serving in war and the war at home. The collection is lovingly curated by a team of dedicated volunteers, and includes the original lock-up that held famed bushranger Jimmy Governor among its many relics.
Looking for nature:
The Manning Valley is more than just the stunning Manning River. There are awesome nature reserves and smaller rivers that offer beautiful walks with a message of hope through rehabilitation. The best local walks around Taree include the Dawson River Wetland Boardwalk and Brimbin Nature Reserve where you can enjoy Ms Kelly’s Walking Track. Named after Isabella Mary Kelly, NSW’s only independent female colonial settler who ran her own station at Mount George on the Manning River upstream of Wingham. Never marrying, she was looked at with suspicion and envy, apparently disliked by her neighbours for ‘doing men’s work’. The walk follows a historic bullock route through groves of endangered narrow-leafed redgum.
A little further afield at Wingham you’ll discover Wingham Brush, a nature reserve covering 10 hectares of subtropical floodplain rainforest, one of only a few remnants of this rare rainforest type in Australia. Giant Moreton Bay figs tower over a gently winding wheelchair-friendly boardwalk suitable for all ages, where you’ll discover a large colony of endangered grey-headed flying foxes.
