Tamworth is a city and the administrative centre of the New England region of northern New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River within the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest and most populated city in the New England region, with a population of 42,872 in June 2018, making it the second largest inland city in New South Wales. Tamworth is 318 km (198 mi) from the Queensland border, and it is located almost midway between Brisbane and Sydney. The city is known as the "First Town of Lights", being the first place in Australia to use electric street lights in 1888.[2] Tamworth is also famous as the "Country Music Capital of Australia", annually hosting the Tamworth Country Music Festival in late January; the second-biggest country music festival in the world, after Nashville. The city is recognised as the National Equine Capital of Australia[3] because of the high number of equine events held in the city and the construction of the world-class Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre, the biggest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere