Dalmorton Ghost Town is located in Northern NSW within the boundaries of the Guy Fawkes National Parks, it is run by National Parks and there are 3 ways of getting there, from the west, the north-east and the south east. There is not a lot standing but plenty left to see of the old once thriving community of Dalmorton.
We stayed at the National Parks official campground during our annual Christmas / New years road-trip for 2018/2019. This campground is just across the river from what remains of the old town, National parks do charge to camp here and it is the usual $6 per adult per night. The campground has a number of areas, camping areas, which had mainly caravans in it, a day-use area and a group area, we camped in the flat area of the group area, someone has sawn a timber bollard off at ground level so we were able to just drive in which was good. There is a good information board and 2 stinky loos as well as a firewood drop, though the firewood drop was pretty empty when we were there. Access to the awesome Boyd River is just a few minutes walk down from this campsite with plenty of great places to fish or swim.
There was plenty of grass in all the camp areas we looked at before deciding on where we setup, just not a lot of good shade, except where the caravans were setup. There are also fire pits and picnic tables etc in the day-use area, but no tables etc in the camping areas. There is also lots of free camping along the Boyd River and there were a LOT of people camping down on the river flats right near the river. The official campground was nice and quiet, we loved it.
A Bit Of History
Dalmorton was once a thriving township of around 5,000 people during a quite brief gold rush that started in the 1860's or so. The township at its peak boasted 13 pubs, police station, courthouse, school and many shops, a number of these buildings are still standing. One thing to keep in mind, there is a full time family living here, their "property" is marked as private so please respect that and don't just walk onto their property.
The peak of the gold rush in Dalmorton was during the period from 1870 or so through to around the early 1900's. Mining at Dalmorton consisted of alluvial and reef mining with plenty of gold being taken out of the valley and spent in the town. Like a lot of boom and bust gold towns, once the gold ran out, people moved on, the town continued to survive as timber getters took hoop pine from out of the area. Again, that started to peter out and soon the town was just a backwater town that very few people visited. Eventually, what buildings that were still standing, that had not been infested with termites, were disassembled and taken away to be used elsewhere.
In the early days, the road that passes through to Glen Innes was a Cobb and Co stage run, it used to take around 3 days along this road to get from Glen Innes to Grafton, an adventure in itself I would think.
Things To Do & See
We love old history, so the main attraction for us was learning about the history of the old town and checking out what was left of the buildings and infrastructure.
Some of the note-able buildings that still remain are the old butcher shop when you can enter, you can still see the hooks in the roof of the shop, a very small "hidden" door can be opened and you can go through into what may have been a loo or storeroom, it is hard to tell. Apparently built around the 1930's it is a good example of what would have been in the town.
Not far away from the butchers shop there is a run-down old house, complete with a jacaranda tree in the front "yard" and a path that heads towards the road, another building that is worthy of a look around and a photo or two.
There is a stunning looking building on the left as you first come to town from the south east, perhaps this was another shop, it is hard to tell, it is closed up and on private property, so, keep out and take pics from the road only, there are other historical buildings on this private property that you will need to admire from the road as well.
A bit further along on the right there are lots of yards and supports for sheds and other buildings. Apparently, not far from here was a cemetery and a school, but try as we might, we could see no evidence of either.
The turn off that crosses the river and heads to the official campground goes left beside a set of old tennis courts. Opposite these is the biggest collection of buildings and a great information board. This was the location of the police station, courthouse, stables, lockup and some very flash loos. A fair bit to see here so have a wander and read the information.
Not far out of town if you head towards Glen Innes you will come to a feature known as the "Convict Tunnel", the tunnel was in fact built by low paid labour, not convicts and was cut out of a bluff that extends right to the Boyd Rivers edge, it is a rough-cut tunnel that is around 100feet or so long and is an interesting spot to visit, park safely and walk through and admire the hard work that went into building it. Just a pit about the graffiti that is now starting to appear on the walls, and even on the roof. If you are returning back to Dalmorton from the tunnel, just keep going and you will soon find a big enough area near a small bridge to safely turn around.
How To Get There
Dalmorton is pretty easy to get to and with care, almost any vehicle should be fine in dry weather. It is all on average to sometimes rough dirt roads, and there are no services of any kind nearby. Google maps has no problems offering you multiple ways to get there, some may just be more creative than others.
From Grafton: It is approx 66km's from Grafton, again, mostly on dirt, dry weather roads. It is easy to find your way, head west of of Grafton along the Gwydir Hwy and very soon the Old Glen Innes road is on your left, follow that til you arrive at Dalmorton.
From Waterfall Way / Dorrigo: It is approx 113km's from Dorrigo, about half of this route is on tar roads, the rest is on dry weather dirt roads. Take Tyringham Rd and turn right onto Armidale Rd and then finally left onto Old Glen Innes Rd, now follow this til you reach Dalmorton.
From Glen Innes: It is approx 115km's from Glen Innes, again, the majority of the scenic drive is on dry weather dirt roads, by far the most scenic way to get here or exit from. Head east from Glen Innes on the Gwydir Hwy for approx 37 or so km's and keep an eye out on the right for the Old Grafton Road. Follow that til you reach Dalmorton.
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