[5] Before the British colonial settlement of New South Wales, the indigenous Anaiwan tribe occupied the area that encompasses current day Armidale.

British pastoralists first entered the region in the early 1830s, following the earlier exploration of the area by John Oxley.

Armidale was initially founded in 1839 by George James MacDonald who was the Commissioner of Crown Lands and head of the local Border Police detachment in the New England district.

The gold mining settlement of Hillgrove about 40 km east of Armidale was supplied by electricity from Australia's first hydro-electric scheme, the Gara River Hydro-Electric Scheme, remains of which are still visible on the Gara River below the Blue Hole at Castle Doyle.

The nearby town of Uralla holds the grave of the famous Captain Thunderbolt – outlaw Fred Ward – who caused trouble in the area in the 1860s.

Local politician, David Drummond, a strong supporter of the movement, successfully lobbied for Armidale to have the second teachers' college in New South Wales,[13] and later a university,[14] positioning the town as a potential state capital.

A short distance to the east of Armidale are heavily forested steep gorges dropping down to the eastern coastal plain.

Intruding into these meta-sediments are granite plutons which decompose to form sandy soil, slightly deficient in nutrients.

The critically endangered New England Peppermint Grassy Woodland is the main vegetation community in the region.

[16] The coastal plain can be reached directly at Coffs Harbour via Waterfall Way to Dorrigo and Bellingen on the Bellinger River, a two-hour drive.

During winter there is a problem with some air quality reduction caused by the use of solid fuel domestic wood heaters.

In Armidale, the presence of four distinct seasons makes it climatically unlike much of inland Australia; hence, the "New England" moniker and the autumn colours are notable features of the city.

Thunderstorms often produce heavy falls of rain and occasionally hail in the afternoons and early evenings, also bringing a sudden drop in temperature.

Unlike nearby coastal areas, Armidale does not usually experience high humidity levels making most of the summer days quite comfortable.

[citation needed] Winters are cold; overnight temperatures drop below −5 °C or 23 °F with frost on the ground; at the Tree Group Nursery station a reading as low as −11.2 °C or 11.8 °F was record on 30 June 2010, whilst the older station at Radio 2AD recorded −9.3 °C or 15.3 °F on 15 July 1970.

[21] These are typical Northern Tablelands winter days with westerly winds, bleak grey clouds, and showers of rain and very occasionally snow.

[citation needed] In spring temperatures are warmer, although occasional morning frosts still can continue well into October.

On 29 September 1996 hail of up to 80 millimetres (3.1 in) in diameter and southerly winds of up to 150 kilometres per hour (93 mph) were reported at the airport weather station.

[24] On 1 January 2000 many homes were damaged by extreme weather conditions which brought large hail stones, strong winds and flash flooding.

The city was declared a state of emergency by New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma the following day.

Approximately 27% of Armidale's total population is in the 10–24-year age group, compared with an equivalent NSW figure of 18%.

UNE hosts a wide range of courses, and introduced a number of new courses in 2008, including a five-year Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine program as part of a joint medical program with the University of Newcastle.

It features many shops and cafés with outdoor eating areas along with some notable architecture, including Tattersalls Hotel, built in the Art Deco style during the 1930s; Armidale Courthouse; the city's main post office; the former Commonwealth Bank and the New England Hotel.

[44] Armidale Dumaresq Council has been undertaking major upgrades to the mall since 2003 as part of the Armidale CBD Streetscape Design Project which aims at easing traffic in the city centre by creating an emphasis on the "ring road" around the CBD with the assistance of signage, elevation of roads using paving and the creation of one-way streets.