Coraki, New South Wales

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Coraki is a small town of about 1000 people that sits on the confluence of the Richmond and Wilson Rivers in northern New South Wales, Australia in Richmond Valley Shire. The name Coraki is derived from Bundjalung Gurigay, meaning The meeting of the waters.^[1]

It is about 30 kilometres east of Casino and about 25 kilometres south of the regional city of Lismore. Like many other towns in the area, it is a hub for the local agricultural industries such as cattle, sugar cane and tea tree oil.

Coraki is the home of the annual Coraki Tea Tree Art Prize, an art competition and exhibition open to all artists.

Each year, a rowing race known as the Coraki Regatta is held on the Richmond River.

The village was founded by William Yabsley in 1849 when Lismore was only a small cattle station and Casino had only one store and a hotel. Yabsley and his family obtained the lease to Brook Station and established the first permanent settlement. He built his shipyard just above The Junction, as it was first called. Many ships and river boats were launched there and Yabsley opened a store for provisions for the cedar cutters who came to the district. Transport at the time was almost entirely by water and Coraki was the busiest port on the Richmond River.