Fossickers Way

Fossickers Way New South Wales
General information
Type	Highway
Length	390 km (242 mi)
Route number(s)	B95
Former route number	State Route 95 (?? - 2013)
Major junctions
North end	Gwydir Highway (B76), Warialda, New South Wales
	New England Highway (A15) Oxley Highway (B56)
South end	Jenkins Street, Tamworth, New South Wales
Location(s)
Major settlements	Bingara, Barraba, Manilla
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in New South Wales

Fossickers Way runs from Nundle in the south to Warialda and eastwards on the Gwydir Highway to Inverell and Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands.^[1] It is designated as B95.^[2] Fossickers Way refers to a specific group of towns located in northern New South Wales. It is referred to as Fossickers Way due to the many deposits of gold and the variety of gemstones that have been found in the area (mostly by Europeans) since the early 1850s. Prior to this time, local Aboriginal tribes such as the Werawai people of Nundle and its surrounds were known to use local minerals and stones for the purpose of making tools, such as axe heads.

Fossickers Way transverses the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands and passes through some of the world’s richest gem areas. In these parts, sapphires, zircon, jasper, prase, rhodonite, crystals and even gold may be found. The highway passes through open wheat and grazing lands and deeply wooded slopes, through country towns rich in gold rush history.

Towns along the Fossickers' Way include Nundle, Tamworth, Manilla, Barraba, and Bingara, Warialda, Delungra, Inverell and Glen Innes. The Fossickers Way, a scenic drive that incorporates seven shires in northern NSW^[3] The entire trip is around 375 km.^[4] Which makes it a very popular alternate route between Sydney and Brisbane.

Bridge over the Namoi River, in Manilla

In this area, sapphires, zircon, jasper, prase, ridonite, crystals and even gold may be found along various quarries, rivers and creeks, such as Swamp Oak Creek, just out of the town of Nundle where gold was discovered in 1851 by a local squatter, Nathan Burrows It has been reported that he made the discovery, then immediately informed folks in nearby Tamworth and the gold rush began thereafter. The Gwydir highway passes through open wheat and grazing lands and deeply wooded slopes through country towns, rich in gold rush history.

Many events occur along Fossicker's Way throughout the year, including the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival in January. The Fossicker's Way Treasure Hunt^[5] is also an annual event which takes participants through all eight towns on the trail.

See also

Australian Roads portal

References

Road infrastructure in regional New South Wales Motorways Hume Motorway Hunter Expressway Pacific Motorway (Brisbane – Brunswick Heads) Pacific Motorway (Sydney–Newcastle) Princes Motorway National highways Barton Highway Federal Highway Hume Highway New England Highway Newell Highway Sturt Highway Highways Barrier Highway Bruxner Highway Carnarvon Highway Castlereagh Highway Cobb Highway Great Western Highway Gwydir Highway Illawarra Highway Kamilaroi Highway Kings Highway Mid-Western Highway Mitchell Highway Monaro Highway Murray Valley Highway Olympic Highway Oxley Highway Pacific Highway Princes Highway Riverina Highway Silver City Highway Snowy Mountains Highway Local highways Alpine Way Appin Road Barry Way Bathurst-Ilford Road Bells Line of Road Bucketts Way Burley Griffin Way Bylong Valley Way Camden Valley Way Castlereagh Highway Central Coast Highway Escort Way Fossickers Way Golden Highway Goldfields Way Goulburn-Oberon Road Henry Lawson Way Irrigation Way Kidman Way Lachlan Valley Way Memorial Drive Newcastle Inner City Bypass Newcastle Link Road O'Connell Road Old Hume Highway Picton Road Princes Highway Putty Road Remembrance Drive Summerland Way Thunderbolts Way Waterfall Way Wombeyan Caves Road Yass Valley Way Bridges Denison Bridge Grafton Bridge Harwood Bridge Hampden Bridge Macleay River Bridge Martin Bridge Mooney Mooney Bridge Nowra Bridge Sea Cliff Bridge Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge Tunnels Cudgen Road Tunnel St Helena Tunnel Proposals Sydney Bypass