Kempsey is a town on the North Coast, New South Wales, Australia.
Kempsey is located where the Pacific Highway crosses the Macleay River. It is roughly 450 kilometers north of Sydney and about 15 kilometers inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
Enoch William Rudder is credited with founding the settlement. He bought land on the southern bank of the river in 1831, sub-divided his grant, and sold blocks from 1835. Rudder's settlement was later re-named 'East Kempsey'. The main (and most flood-prone) part of the town was founded by John Verge, sub-dividing a grant on the flood-plain opposite Rudder's settlement. Further areas to the west, on both sides of the river (West Kempsey and South Kempsey), were founded later by the government of New South Wales, which moved government facilites there when it became clear that no town would form around the police station and courthouse at Belgrave Falls.
Kempsey initially flourished as a centre for logging and sawmilling. Large reserves of Australian red cedar ([i]Toona australis[/i], sold in Britain and the USA as 'Brazilain mahogany') were extracted down until the 1920s, and with greater difficulty until the 1960s, by which time the resource was effectively exhausted. Dairying was the major industry in the area until the 1960s, with a Nestlé factory at nearby Smithtown, and several cheese and butter factories. The area now subsists on a declining beef industry and tourism. Kempsey is a service centre for the coastal resorts of South West Rocks, Hat Head, and Cresecent Head, which attract retirement and summer holiday-makers.
Kempsey is the seat of Kempsey Shire, which was formed in 1976 by the amalgamation of the former Kempsey Municipality and the former Macleay Shire.
Kempsey stretches out around long loop of the Macleay River. It is famous for its floods. The 1949 flood was particularly memorable, having caused considerable destruction in Central Kempsey. Other major floods occured in 1950, 1963, and 2001.
Kempsey has a McDonalds and a Woolworths. It has a number of colorful hotels. It has churches, a hospital, and a bookshop. There are several primary schools, three of them run by the NSW Department of Education, and three high schools: Kempsey High School (government), Melville High School (government), and St Paul's (Catholic).
Kempsey is also the site of the office and plant of the Akubra Hat Company.
The indiginous inhabitants of the Macleay Valley are the Dunghutti People.
Kempsey is on the Pacific Highway and the North Coast Railway.
West Kempsey is almost a separate town, located on the western side of the railway tracks. Most of the government buildings - the council chamber, the library - are located in West Kempsey.
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