Mooball, New South Wales

Mooball (pronounced Mow-ball)[1] is a locality in the Tweed Shire, New South Wales, Australia and it is on the lands of the Bundjalung people who are its Traditional Owners.[2] The town name was originally spelt Moball.[3][4]

Abandoned Railway Bridge Mooball, 2008
The Moo Moo Roadhouse in Mooball, NSW, 2024
Cow themed artwork at the Moo Moo Roadhouse, 2024

The Northern Rivers Rail Trail passes through the town and it is nearby to the Mooball National Park.[1][5]

History

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The name of the town is from the Bandjalung-Yugambeh dialect chain word 'mobool', which is the name of the cane of a lawyer vine.[3][1]

In March 2012, Mooball was declared free of plastic bags.[6]

In 2016, an unusually high number of cancer cases in residents of Mooball raised concerns about whether there were radioactive elements introduced through a local sand mining business.[7]

Thanks to its rural setting, Mooball is a popular tourist destination due to the cow themed decorations throughout the town; these decorations include black and white cow prints painted on electricity poles throughout.[1] Other cow themed attractions available include the Moo Moo Roadhouse, which features cow style markings and artwork.[8][9]

 
The big motorcycle at Mooball, New South Wales, pictured in 2024

The Big Motorcycle

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Mooball is home to the Big Motorcycle, one of Australia's big things, and this is across the road from the Moo Moo Roadhouse on Tweed Valley Way. The Big Motorcycle is a replica of the Yamaha YZR500 ridden by Wayne Rainey in 1993.[10][11] It is three times the size of a regular motorbike and stands three metres tall.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Places". Northern Rivers Rail Trail. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  2. ^ "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander". www.tweed.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  3. ^ a b "Mooball". GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES REGISTER EXTRACT. New South Wales Government. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  4. ^ "South Coast memories". The Brisbane Courier. No. 20, 639. Queensland, Australia. 17 March 1924. p. 10. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Mooball National Park". NSW National Parks. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  6. ^ "Bilambil says no to plastic bags". Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  7. ^ Turnbull, Samantha (21 Apr 2016). "Possible cancer cluster divides residents in NSW village of Mooball". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Australia's best motorcycle hangouts - Moo Moo Roadhouse". Australian Motorcycle News. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  9. ^ "Moo Moo Roadhouse -". 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  10. ^ "The Big Motorcycle, Mooball, NSW - Land of the Bigs". 2022-12-18. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  11. ^ Arylko (2014-12-19). "Stubbed out: cigarette brand on Mooball classic bike". Tweed Daily News. Retrieved 2024-06-12.