Tamworth (pop. 35,415) is a city in New South Wales, Australia. It lies about 192 miles (310 kilometers) north of Sydney. Tamworth is sometimes called Australia’s Country Music Capital. The city is home to the Country Music Association of Australia. Each January, the city hosts the weeklong Tamworth Country Music Festival. The Country Music Awards of Australia, granted during the festival, honor outstanding members of Australia’s country music community.
Tamworth lies on the Peel River on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. The region has mild winters, hot summers, and moderate rainfall.
Tamworth is the trade and transportation center of a rich agricultural area. Some of the area’s main agricultural products are dairy products, eggs, honey, grain crops, and wool. Mineral deposits in the region include asbestos, copper, gold, and tin. Tamworth’s industries include construction and the manufacture of processed foods and metal products. In addition, many people work in service industries, especially healthcare, education, and retail trade. The city has an agricultural research station and a technical and further education college.
Tamworth also is a center for culture and special events. The Tamworth Regional Gallery is an art museum founded in 1919. A large, guitar-shaped building is home to the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame. Since 1973, the city has hosted the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival. The Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre in Tamworth hosts major horse and livestock shows and competitions each year. 
Aboriginal peoples have lived in Australia for thousands of years. The Aboriginal people of the Tamworth region are the Kamilaroi people.
Europeans first visited the area in 1818. They were part of a group led by the British-born explorer John Oxley, the surveyor general of New South Wales. Europeans began to settle in the area during the 1830’s. Tamworth was named after a town in central England. Sir Robert Peel, the British prime minister during part of the 1830’s and 1840’s, represented the borough (district) of Tamworth in the British Parliament. Australia’s Tamworth soon became a trade center. It was proclaimed a town in 1850, and a city in 1946.
