What is the biggest island in New South Wales, Australia?

The biggest island in New South Wales is a fluvial island between the two arms of the Clarence River near Grafton. Woodford Island is mostly floodplain, however.

Unlike the other Australian states, New South Wales doesn’t have many notable islands. There aren’t many obvious ones along the coast, which makes for a tricky quiz question: What is the biggest island in New South Wales?

The biggest island in New South Wales

The answer will probably come as a surprise even to those who think they know Australian geography pretty well. It’s not one of the Sydney Harbour islands, such as Cockatoo Island, as they’re too small. Scouting a map of the Australian coastline brings up two likely contenders – Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea and Montague Island near Narooma.

But Lord Howe Island is not the biggest island in New South Wales, and neither is Montague Island. And if you can’t see any other contenders, you’re looking in the wrong place.

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Where is Woodford Island?

The biggest island in New South Wales is Woodford Island. If you can’t see it on the map, that’s because Woodford Island is not on the coast. It is an island formed by the divergence of the Clarence River in the Northern Rivers region of the state.

The Clarence River breaks into a north arm and south arm to the north-west of Grafton. The arms meet again at Maclean, but the divergence forms a 37 square kilometre island.

Many travellers will drive past Woodford Island on the drive from Coffs Harbour to Byron Bay or Sydney to Brisbane.

Woodford Island near Grafton, NSW. Photo courtesy of Destination NSW.

Visiting Woodford Island

It’s also possible to visit Woodford Island, although it’s not exactly the most fascinating place in the world. Sugar cane grows on Woodford Island, and around 250 people live there, but it is mostly fairly featureless flood plain.

Tick off 9 Australian bucket list experiences

Take Blue Mountains day tour from Sydney – with kangaroo-feeding at a wildlife park, Scenic World tickets and a Parramatta River cruise.
Snorkel or dive on the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns.
Do Australia’s most spectacular drive on a Great Ocean Road day tour from Melbourne.
Drive along the beach on a 4WD day tour of Fraser Island, the world’s biggest sand island.
Have a dune-top barbecue dinner and stargazing session in the shadow of Uluru.
See penguins on Phillip Island – and more native wildlife at the Moonlit Sanctuary – on a day trip from Melbourne.
Go snorkelling, sandboarding and kayaking on Moreton Island from Brisbane.
Meet gloriously cute quokkas on Rottnest Island near Perth with a ferry and bike hire package.
Kayak with dolphins in Byron Bay.