Casino

Postcode: 2470

Casino is a town of approximately 10,000 persons in northern New South Wales. It lies on the banks of the Richmond River and sits on the junction of the Bruxner Highway and the Summerland Way. It is located 726 km north of Sydney and 228 km south of Brisbane.

It is the seat of the Richmond Valley Council, a Local Government Area.

It was named after Monte Cassino in Italy, with which it has a sister city agreement.

Casino is among Australia's largest beef centres. It is the regional hub of a very large cattle industry and has some of New South Wales' largest stockyards. It positions itself as the "Beef Capital" of Australia, although the city of Rockhampton also claims this title. in addition it is the service centre for a rich agricultural area.

On occasion, it is the hottest place in New South Wales.

Each year it celebrates Beef Week. In 2004, it was held between 26 May to 1 June.

Casino is situated on the main North Coast railway line between Sydney and Brisbane. A branch line runs via Lismore to Murwillumbah. This line is currently closed, although lobbying is taking place to re-open it.

Prior to European settlement the Casino district was part of the lands inhabited by the Bundjalung Aborigines. It is unclear how many of the group lived around Casino although one report, dating from 1840, talks about a gathering of a 'mob of wild blacks numbering five hundred or upwards'. The Bundjalung spread across the area and their territory reached as far north as Toowoomba and included the modern-day towns of Tenterfield and Warwick. One of the annual rituals of the Bundjalung people was the movement to the coast during the winter months when the mullet were plentiful. The inland peoples from around Casino brought black bean seeds with them to trade for the fish.

Today Casino calls itself 'The Beef Capital'. It has an official Beef Week which is held each May - the 'week' actually lasts for 12 days. With a population of around 12,000 it is a thriving rural centre which relies heavily on the region's cattle industry combined with the importance of the local timber industry. To appreciate the scale of the local cattle industry it is worth noting that over 120,000 head of cattle are sold at the Casino Livestock Selling Centre each year.

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