Manilla


Manilla: a small town on The Fossickers Way serving local wheat and mix farming activities. Manilla is known for its setting as a fishing and paragliding area.

Where is it?: 37 km north west of Tamworth; 459 km north of Sydney; 620 km south west of Brisbane.


In recent years, Manilla has become famous throughout the world as a major sports flying centre supporting hang gliding, paragliding, ultralight aircraft, gyro-planes and gliders. It boasts nearby Mt Borah, one of the world's top Paraglider and Hang Glider launch sites.

In 1998 local Paragliding Instructor and developer of Mt Borah, Godfrey Wenness, gained the World Distance record with a flight of 335 km. Major free-flight competitions are staged annually during the summer months.



Brief history: The coming of the Main North Railway Line to Tamworth in 1878 and to Manilla in 1899 saw the development of the local wool and wheat industries. The boom years of 1894-1900 saw a spurt of building, although a series of fires a decade later destroyed many structures. Manilla became a municipality in 1901, at which time the population was 888. Tobacco was commercially grown in the early years of the twentieth century.

Bushranger Captain Thunderbolt had associations with the town, having robbed townspeople or bailed up travellers through the region on a number of occasions.

| Content © 2013 Phoenix Group Co. | Sales: phone 1300 753 517; email | Editorial: phone 0412 879 698; email | W3Layouts