Grafton (pop. 21,020) is famed for the jacaranda trees which line its broad streets (Jacaranda Festival at the end of October and beginning of November). The settlement was founded around 1830 by loggers, soon followed by stock farmers. When gold was found on the upper course of the Clarence River the town grew rapidly. By 1880 it was a busy
river port.
The town's prosperity at the end of the 19th C is illustrated by a number of well-preserved buildings in the Victoria Street area (police station, post office, courthouse). Other handsome buildings are Christ Church Cathedral, the Post Office Hotel and the CBC Bank. Schaeffer House (190 Fitzroy Street), built in 1903 by an architect of that name for his own occupation, has preserved its original interior decoration and is now a museum. In Prentice House (1880) is the Regional Art Gallery.