Our Unique Environment

Sandalwood Park is located 1 km north of Wardell, a village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Wardell is situated on the Richmond River and the Pacific Highway between the towns of Broadwater and Ballina. It is approximately 724 kms north of Sydney and 200 kms south of Brisbane.

Wardell was known in the 1850's as Blackwall , the cedar-getters settlement which was established as a river port on the Richmond River. The river was an important transport route for the region for the first 100 years after settlement. It developed into an important sawmilling centre for the timber industry and later for the milling of sugar cane. Wardell is known for its landmark liftspan bridge which was built to replace the ferries and barges used to transport Australian red cedar and sugarcane in the 1800s.

Today Wardell has a homemade pie shop and cafe,post office,pub, petrol station, public wharf and boat ramp. The river and its estuaries abound with marine wildlife and are used for recreational fishing and water sports.