Wollombi Valley has a quiet way of surprising you.
Photo of Sophie Cook, Wollombi Burlesque Troupe at the Barn Wollombi General Store. Photo Veronfante composite Euan Wilcox
Six Galleries. Two Villages. One Very Creative Wollombi Valley
Two small villages sit along a historic road, established c. 1830. The area holds layers of Indigenous history, early colonial stories, and sandstone buildings that have seen many generations. It might seem quiet at first glance.
But it isn’t.
Even though you can drive through the two villages in just ten minutes, creativity here is everywhere. There are now six different galleries. Six!
Wollombi is home to Roadside Gallery, Jodie Usher Gallery, Little Yengo Gallery, and the Fireshed Gallery. There’s also The Forge, filled with antiques and curious finds, and now the new Artisans Collective in the old barn at the Wollombi General Store, opening this March. That’s a lot of creativity for one historic village.
Every two years, the Wollombi Valley Sculpture Festival fills the village and gardens with art, turning the whole valley into an open-air gallery.
The Laguna Art Show is also held biannually to support Laguna Public School. It brings together artists and students, and the money raised helps fund school programs.
Valley Artists Inc has been staging standout live theatre since 1998. These are fully realised productions, complete with crafted sets, tight scripts and months of rehearsal. Run by a dedicated team of local volunteers, the theatre has built a strong reputation for fresh, high-quality performances.
The Wollombi Burlesque Troupe brings bold, unapologetic energy to the countryside. This isn’t improvised. It’s rehearsed, curated and just the right amount of outrageous. Guitars are tuned, stilt walkers hit their mark, and amps blasts to life.
Community markets are held three times a year during the long weekends, bringing together local makers, growers, and artists. Handmade goods, fresh produce, home baking and plenty of familiar faces. It’s country shopping, Wollombi Valley style.
But creativity here isn’t just about exhibitions and events.
Local musicians play for the joy of it, yes. But this isn’t busking. These are seasoned performers booked for festivals, weddings, openings and long-table lunches. They rehearse, they collaborate, and they deliver.
So many people in the valley learn to paint, weld, carve, restore, knit, make prints, or join ceramic groups.
That’s what makes this place special. It’s still country and yes its small, but there’s space here - space to try new things, open a gallery in a shed, start a workshop, or put on a show and trust people will come.
Each gallery is another small business.
It’s another creative person taking a chance, and another reason for someone to stay.
Even though the valley has been here for almost two hundred years, Wollombi Valley feels full of life and creativity.
Wollombi Village photo credit Euan Wilcox
The Creative Heart of Wollombi Valley in the Hunter Valley discover it for yourself.
Stay at Little Valley Summerhouse. Just 90 minutes from Sydney, tucked into Laguna in Wollombi Valley. An adults-only escape in the Hunter Valley, set on our working alpaca farm.