THE new National Cartoon Gallery adds significantly to the cultural life of our residents, as well as giving our tourist industry a unique new product to sell.

Cultural benefits: Locals can enjoy viewing regular exhibitions featuring works from the leading cartoonists in the country.

Their art will make you laugh as well as think!

Right now, the Gallery is showing two great exhibitions which have been described in more detail on an earlier page.

These will be followed by a touring exhibition called “Behind the Lines” which is a collection of the best political cartoons of 2020.

Later in the year, the Bill Leak Exhibition will be replaced by works from David Rowe, who won two major national cartooning awards last year.

The new gallery also offers a unique and engaging venue for weddings, community and corporate functions and is capable of handling groups of up to 150.

Then there’s a fabulous new coffee venue offering indoor and outdoor tables with a great view over Coffs.

It’s run by the award- winning team from Two Tails Winery and is rapidly becoming a very popular place to meet friends.

Come and have a look.

The Gallery and coffee shop are open 10am to 4pm every day and the entrance road runs off the big roundabout near the racecourse.

Tourism: The local tourist industry needs more than good beaches and beautiful scenery.

Most coastal destinations offer that. As well, visitors want interesting things to do on rainy days.

Cultural tourism is a rapidly growing segment of the tourism market.

This cartoon gallery gives our city something that visitors can’t see anywhere else in Australia.

Everyone in business knows that having a unique product is an enormous competitive advantage and that’s what the National Cartoon Gallery offers our local tourist industry.

The gallery will both attract additional tourists to our city as well as giving visitors who are already here, a unique and memorable experience, which makes their holiday even more enjoyable.

All of the above benefits have been made possible by the combination of a committed local community group, The Bunker Cartoon Gallery Inc, some seed funding from Coffs Harbour City Council and a grant of $2.69 million from the NSW State Government.

It appears that all of them are happy with the result.