Situated high in the mountains of the Great Dividing Range, Liston is a small rural village surrounded by lush, gently undulating country.
The landscape is dominated by agricultural land, with cattle grazing properties, lavender farms and market gardeners operating throughout the area.
Early squatters grazed sheep on huge runs, and the settlers that followed were engaged in a range of occupations including grazing, dairying, logging, sawmilling and mining.
Alluvial tin was discovered in the area in 1872, and in 1888 silver and lead were discovered in the Rivertree area. As a result of the mining rush, a wide cross section of people settled in the Liston area, including a large Chinese community. In Wilson’s Downfall and Amosfield there were churches, schools, a police station, courthouse and jail, hotels, boarding houses, shops, sports grounds and race courses, as well as a blacksmith, saddler and watchmaker.
Liston is close to some of the region’s best natural attractions, including Undercliffe Falls, Bald Rock and Boonoo Boonoo National Parks. Bald Rock is home to the largest granite monolith in the southern hemisphere, which towers above the horizon at almost 1,300 metres above sea level. Boonoo Boonoo is famous for its flowing rivers, secluded waterholes and rockpools, breathtaking gorges, and cascading falls. The Boonoo Boonoo River winds its way through high granite country, strewn with boulders and covered by open forest.
Relics of the past can also be viewed around Liston, including old mining and the WWII tank traps on Mt Lindesay Road. Culturally significant sites of the traditional landowners (the Bundjalung) can also be seen, including bora rings, rock paintings and camp sites.
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