Kingscliff, as a center of an urban population, is historically much younger that other towns of such as Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads. It's earliest beginnings are not well documented, but it is sure that this beautiful headland and small stream were two of the land marks used by earlier arrivals to guide themselves on their travels between the Richmond and the Moreton Bay settlement. The first track from the Richmond to the Tweed lay along the beach and it turned inland to Cudgen Creek reaching the Tweed River at Tom Boyd's accommodation hose at Chinderah, thus saving many miles going around by the mouth.
It's significance grew, not as a port like Tweed heads, but as a seaside recreation area for the early settlers and the generations that followed. Its proximity to the very rich volcanic soils of the Cudgen area which were quickly settled by the early pioneers made it agreeably pleasant and easily accessible playground.
One of the earliest settlers to take up land at Cudgen was Mr. Michael Guilfoyle and his sons, John and William. Between them they selected about 600 acres in the area between Chinderah and Cudgen in the early 1870's and established a sugar plantation and a tropical nursery. Michael Guilfoyle was a noted horticulturalist and landscape gardener. He trained in England and arrived in Australia in 1851 where he set up his nursery at Double Bay in Sydney. His son William had previously visited the South Pacific in H.M.S. "Challenger" and brought back many exotic plants which were added to his father's collection. Michael Guilfoyle experimented on his Cudgen property with the cultivation of many varieties of fruits and sugar cane. Early papers state that he had upwards of 30 acres of orange trees, date plums, breadfruit, mangoes, liches, bananas, pineapples, mangosteens, camellias and 41 varieties of sugar cane.
Mr. Guilfoyle's home on his Cudgen estate was constructed by the use of cedar, rosewood and beech and had a shingle roof. It stood on the hill behind where the Cudgen Public School is now situated. Unfortunately, no trace of this grand enterprise exists today. The last record of its existence comes from a report attributed to a W.S Campbell in 1885 that the once splendid garden was then in ruin and almost completely destroyed. Michael Guilfoyle's son William later distinguished himself as the very worthy successor to Baron Von Mueller as the Director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, a post he held for 28 years.
Two sugar mills were constructed in the Cudgen area in the late 1830's and early 1870s, one by a Mr. Collier and the other by Mr. W.W. Julius. Mr. Julius late sold his mill to Robb & Casey who in turn sold it to the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company. The stack of this mill stood just outside Cudgen until it was demolished on 11th January 1962, because of it's dangerous condition
Robb & CO. bought 100 acres at Cudgen from H. Clarke for one thousands pounds and offered a further five thousands pounds for the remaining 500 acres of his land. They also acquired property from W. Guilfoyle and employed 300 axemen in falling this scrub at 2 pounds 10 shillings per acre. Mr. Robb, who was a great believer in employing black labour, established the Cudgen Cane Plantation which employed about 500 men at it's peak, both on the mill and on the farm. The coloured workers were largely of Polynesian extraction and were referred to as "kanackas". Descendants of these families still survive in the area today. The C.S.R., purchased the mill and plantation in 1912 and sub-divided it up into smaller farms.
The first school in the area was established at Chinderah in 1882 but this was transferred in 1886 some distant further from the river and again is was moved to Cudgen to a site resumed from Robb & Co. Plantation in 1891.
The early beginnings of Kingscliff were very closely allied to the development of the agricultural lands around Cudgen and the tweed Valley. It has witness many changes over the years, one of which has been the succession of names chosen for if commencing with Sutherland Point, assigned to it by the early surveyors: then Cudgen Headland, by common usage of early settlers of Cudgen and finally Kingscliff, to end the confusion caused by similarity to it's neighbour Cudgen Headland. The name Cudgen headland still lives on in the title of the Surf Cub, which has for so long watched over the safety of the countless thousands of surfers who flock to this excellent beach. This club hosted the 1978 State Surf Life Saving Titles at Easter and was it was voted the most successful Titles to be held yet, both socially and financially. It was also one of the first clubs to be formed on the North Coast of New South Wales.
The biggest changes have occurred following the start of the sand mining on the beaches just south of Kingscliff in 1939. The quest for the rare minerals which include zircon, rutile, monazite, ilmenite, became more urgent during the Second World War when new alloys were needed for the war machine.
Since the war, of course, these new alloys have become even more valuable and it can be said that minerals from these beaches have helped to put man on the moon.
In the intervening years since the sand mining began, it has employed many hundreds of men and has brought great wealth to the area. It has been the persuasive influence whereby access roads have been built along the tweed coastline southwards from Chinderah. This coastline has previously been left in its natural state clothes in Rain Forest and Coastal heath. With the advantage of hindsight, it can now be said that some remnants of this beautiful flora should have been preserved for posterity but it is now too late. Large expanse of flat sand have now been left in a state ideally suited for urban development and now several companies purchased some thousands of acres between Kingscliff and Bogangar and along Cudgen Creek as far as Cudgen lake. Early planning indicates massive development using extensive canal sub-division.
Kingscliff today is a thriving centre of 3,000 people making great strides towards self-sufficiency and maturity. It has its own very modern bowling club situated on the beach front to which visitors are welcomed all year round. Since the first public school was opened in 1957, enrolment' s have steadily climbed to the stage where nearly 300 pupils now attend. St. Anthony's Roman Catholic School in Pearl Street, is another example of Kingscliff's growth. The Kingscliff branch of the Murwillumbah District Ambulance was opened in 1957 and has become another important link in the town's progress.
Visitors have a choice of accommodation - Hotel, Motels and flats are available and a really excellent caravan parks with all modern conveniences provide first class holidaying right on the sea front.
Kingscliff is a now exciting and expanding seaside holiday resort, which is becoming increasingly popular for both holiday makers and people wishing to reside there. It has a surplus of natural beauty in its own beautiful location, in its glorious beaches, its fine fishing and in its wonderful hinterland.
Its year round climate is a delight to all who experience it.
Kingscliff can justly claim to the title of "THE PEARL OF THE TWEED COAST"