Coffs Harbour is affectionately called " The Banana Republic". Coffs Harbour is a tourist resort in the centre of a tropical fruit-growing area. It is on the coast nearly 600 km north of Sydney and 427 km south of Brisbane.

The fact that it is the capital of a major fruit-growing area is commemorated by the Big Banana theme park. The World of Agriculture is nearby.
The banana growing areas of New South Wales extend along the coastal strip from the Queensland border, south to almost Kempsey.

The Coffs Harbour district has by far the largest area of banana plantations in New South Wales and it produces the highest quantities of bananas in the state almost equal to the entire state of Queensland. Banana's in New South Wales are usually grown on sunny hill sides from 30m to 270m above sea level. The best slopes are those that face north and south and are well sheltered from cold southerly and westerly winds. They are adaptable to many soil types but most are well drainned.
extend along the coastal strip from the Queensland border, south to almost Kempsey.

The Coffs Harbour district has by far the largest area of banana plantations in New South Wales and it produces the highest quantities of bananas in the state almost equal to the entire state of Queensland. Banana's in New South Wales are usually grown on sunny hill sides from 30m to 270m above sea level. The best slopes are those that face north and south and are well sheltered from cold southerly and westerly winds. They are adaptable to many soil types but most are well drained.

Banana's are planted up from two main sources 1) suckers 2) corms. "Suckers" are produced by established plants. The "speakpoint" suckers , so called because of their short narrow leaves, are the ones used for planting material. "Corma" are the bulbous base of the banana plants that have not bunched and may further be divided into several "Bits" for planting.

Polythene bags are applied to the young bunches about
1 month after they emerge. Blue is the most common bag colour and the purpose of the bag is to accelerate growth and fruit maturity whilst the same time affording protection to the developing fruit from insects, wind and light hail. We cut the banana's off the stem, they are placed on the wheel which rotates.

They are washed and then they are ready to be packed into cartons, ready for shipment to Melbourne or Sydney.

My husband and Aunt with a small bunch of banana's. The bunches get much bigger than this.


Check out it's homepage at
Big Banana The "BIG BANANA" Theme Park situated on the Pacific Highway just north of city of Coffs Harbour NSW Australia

Other Pages within this web site:

  1. TheLadybug's Tour Downunder
  2. Businesses & Organizations
  3. Tourism
  4. History of Coffs Harbour
  5. ICQ Greetings
  6. The Ladybug's Australian Beach Hut ICQ Chatroom


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