Dorrigo

Postcode: 2453

Dorrigo is a small town inland from the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, in Bellingen Shire Council. It is approximately 580 kilometres north of the state capital, Sydney, and 60 kilometres from the coastal city of Coffs Harbour. The town is situated on the Dorrigo Plateau, which is part of the Great Dividing Range, and at the 2001 census had a population of 969. Dorrigo is 760 metres above sea level. Dorrigo is noted for its high rainfall and frequent fogs. It is often said of Dorrigo that "The clouds roll down the streets."

The nearby Dorrigo National Park and New England National Park cater for persons interested in natural sights. The Dorrigo Steam Railway is currently being set up in the town as a museum and working exhibit.

The name of the area comes from the local aboriginal word "Dundurrigo" meaning "stringy bark" (a type of eucalypt). However there is a local tradition that the name comes from a Spanish general, Don Dorrigo. Regardless of the origin, over time the name has been shortened to simply "Dorrigo."

The dairy industry became a mainstay of the area, and today, tourism is becoming more important. As of 2006, Dorrigo has Australia's last newspaper to be printed by letterpress, the Don Dorrigo Gazette and Guy Fawkes Advocate (founded 1910), printed on a pre-WWII German Heidelberg Zylinder Automat.

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