coastal town, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 20 miles (32 km) above the mouth of the Tweed River, near the Queensland border. It was surveyed in 1872, but development was slow until the town was reached in 1894 by a rail extension from Lismore. Murwillumbah, an Aboriginal term meaning either a “good campsite” or “place of many possums,” has had a history marked by disaster. It was destroyed by fire in 1907 and ravaged by floods in 1947, 1954, and 1956. On the Pacific Highway, it is a processing and service centre for a district of banana, sugarcane, and dairy farming. A banana festival is celebrated in August-September. Pop. (2006) 6,635.