Apartments in Port Macquarie at twilight - Hollingworth Street, Westport.

Port Macquarie CBD in June 2007

Port Macquarie is a large town on the mid-North Coast, New South Wales, Australia, located about 390 km north of Sydney, and 570km south of Brisbane. The town is located on the coast, south of the mouth of the Hastings River. The site of Port Macquarie was first visited by Europeans in 1820 when John Oxley reached the Pacific Ocean coast from the interior after his journey to explore inland New South Wales. He named the location after the Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie. Later the town was developed, initially as a penal settlement. “NSW” redirects here. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (977x733, 44 KB) Summary Shows location of w: Port_macquarie, New South Wales marked in red in the Australian state of w:New South Wales. ... Australian postcodes have four digits; envelopes for posting from Australia reflect this. ... Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earths surface is covered with water. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... For other uses, see Brisbane (disambiguation). ... The Hastings River at the northern end of Wauchope with the North Coast Railway bridge. ... Map of Local Government Areas in New South Wales Types of LGAs in New South Wales The Local Government Areas of New South Wales, Australia have been subject to periodic bouts of restructuring and rationalisation by the State Government, involving voluntary and involuntary amalgamation of areas. ... Port Macquarie-Hastings is a local government area in New South Wales, Australia. ... State Electoral District is a term used to refer to a voting area within Australian states. ... Port Macquarie is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. ... The Australian House of Representatives is elected from 150 single-member districts called Divisions. ... The Commonwealth Electoral Division of Lyne is an Australian electoral division located in the State of New South Wales. ... Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). ... For other uses, see Fahrenheit (disambiguation). ... Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). ... For other uses, see Fahrenheit (disambiguation). ... This article is about the unit of length. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 297 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 297 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 1536 pixel, file size: 769 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 1536 pixel, file size: 769 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... The North Coast refers to the region adjoining the Pacific Ocean in the north-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. ... Length  ? km Elevation of the source  ? m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed  ? km² Origin Great Dividing Range Mouth Tasman Sea Basin countries Australia The Hastings River is a large river on the mid-North Coast of the Australian state of New South Wales that empties into the Tasman Sea... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the person. ... the flag of the Governor of New South Wales The Governor of New South Wales is the representative in the Australian state of New South Wales of Australias head of state, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. ... Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB (31 January 1762[1] – 1 July 1824), British military officer and colonial administrator, served as Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development... A penal colony is a colony used to detain prisoners and generally use them for penal labor in an economically underdeveloped part of the states (usually colonial) territories, and on a far larger scale than a prison farm. ...

General

Much of the land used to build the town's shopping centres and other structures in recent years was originally owned by the Roman Catholic Church, who many claim are in large part responsible for the town's growth and development. “Catholic Church” redirects here. ...

Port Macquarie is a popular retirement location and popular tourist destination. It is known for its extensive pristine beaches and untouched waterways. The town is also known for its koala population, with many tourists referring to it as the Koala Capital of the world. Port Macquarie is the home of the Koala Preservation Society's Koala Hospital. The Koala Hospital cares for koalas injured through bushfire, dog attacks and collisions with vehicles. For the drawing program, see KoalaPad/Painter. ...

In recent times, Port Macquarie has become more commercialised despite protest from residents, in particular the Rydges Hotel (formerly Four Points by Sheraton) built opposite the Town Green attracted much opposition. The historical Port Macquarie Post Office on the Town Green was torn down to make way for a new high rise apartment block. Town Beach also has high rise apartment complexes.

The residential suburbs stretch as far as Lighthouse Beach to the south, Thrumster to the west and Settlement Point to the north. Settlement Point now also has new canal development, being one of the most expensive real estate developments in the town. More recently, Sovereign Hills (Area 13) has begun development in the west. It will include a new school, shopping facilities and residential areas.

Part of the new North Harbour Development

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 1536 pixel, file size: 640 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 1536 pixel, file size: 640 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU...

Beaches

Beaches include (in order from north to south): North Shore, Town Beach, Oxley Beach, Rocky Beach, Flynns Beach, Nobbys Beach, Shelly Beach, Miners Beach and Lighthouse Beach. Only Town, Flynns and Lighthouse Beaches are manned by Surf Life Saving Clubs, and Lighthouse is only watched at the north end. There is also an active surf culture with the beaches being one of the main tourist attractions.

Educational facilities

Primary schools

Public schools

• Port Macquarie Primary School
• Westport Public School
• Hastings Public School
• Tacking Point Public School

Catholic schools

• St. Joseph's Primary
• St. Peter's Primary
• St. Agnes' Primary

Other private schools

• St Columba Anglican School
• Adventist Primary School
• Heritage Christian School

High schools

Public schools

• Port Macquarie High School
• Westport High School

Private schools

• St. Joseph's High School (Catholic, incorporating Regional and St. Paul's junior campuses and MacKillop Senior College)
• St. Columba Anglican School
• Heritage Christian School
• Australian Technical College (years 11-12; formerly Vocational College, a part of St. Joseph's High School)

Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs) are a class of Australian senior secondary school funded by the Australian federal government. ...

Other educational facilities

There is also a TAFE campus for further qualifications. Courses are also offered by the University of Newcastle through the TAFE campus. In Australia, Technical and Further Education or TAFE institutions are those which offer a wide range of post-secondary education and training, generally in vocational fields (such as hospitality, tourism, construction, woodwork, secretarial skills, community work, etc), often at a level of difficulty below that of a corresponding or related... See: University of Newcastle (NSW), a university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia University of Newcastle upon Tyne, a university in England. ...

Transport links

Port Macquarie is linked by daily air services to both Sydney and Brisbane.

Road access is via the Pacific and Oxley Highways. The Pacific Highway lies between Port Macquarie and Wauchope, and is the main road for tourists travelling from coastal areas. This article is about the Pacific Highway between the Queensland/New South Wales border and Sydney. ...

Improvements to the Oxley and Pacific Highway has seen steady improvements in travel times between Sydney and the region;

The four proposed or in-construction road projects that are underway:

• Karuah to Bulahdelah section 2 and 3 - Under construction [1] (Karuah to Bulahdelah section 1 - Completed December 2006 [2]).

• RTA, Pacific Highway Upgrade

• Bulahdelah Bypass - Planning approval granted.^[2] [3]

[4] [5] [6] [7] . The Bulahdelah bypass will fill the only missing link between Hexham and Port Macquarie once the Karuah to Bulahdelah section(s) 2 and 3 and the Coopernook to Herons Creek upgrades are open in 2009.^[3] This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

• Coopernook to Herons Creek - Detailed design for construction being prepared/Under construction. ^[4][5]
• The Oxley Highway upgrade, from a 2 lane undivided road to a 4-lane divided carriageway, from Wrights Road to the Pacific Highway, stage 1 - Detailed design for construction being prepared/Under construction.^[6]

These four projects are all from the AusLink funding on a 50/50 "joint basis" from the Commonwealth and the state of NSW (50% from Commonwealth Government and the other 50% from the NSW Government ^[7]. AusLink is an Australian Government land transport funding program, established in June 2004 and administered by the Department of Transport and Regional Services. ...

Rail access to Port Macquarie is via bus transfer from the North Coast Railway Line which stops at Wauchope (19 km inland). The North Coast Line is a primary rail route on the North Coast of New South Wales, and forms a major part of the route between Sydney and Brisbane. ...

Annual events

• Schoolies (November)
• Festival of the Sun (December)
• Sundowner BREAM Classic (November)

Schoolies or Schoolies week (known as Leavers or Leavers week in Western Australia) refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates (known as Schoolies) having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December. ... Festival of the Sun (FOTSUN) is an annual outdoor music festival held in December at the Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park, Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia A celebration of the east coast summer culture, the festival makes full use of the unique location - right on Town Beach, the existing facilities...

Radio Stations

• 2MC FM 100.7 & 90.3 (commercial)- Charles Wooley in the morning 9am to 12 midday then classic hits all day
• Star FM 102.3 (commercial)- local breakfast then networked with a Hot AC format.
• Raw FM 87.6 (narrowcast) - Computerised networked from Frenches Forrest. Featuring Dance and Rave Music.
• Radio 531 AM & 93.5FM (commercial) Relays 2SM's program format all day except John Laws 9am to 11am
• Triple J 96.3 FM
• ABC Radio National 97.1 FM
• ABC Mid North Coast 648 AM/95.5 FM
• Classic FM 98.7 FM
• Racing Radio 92.7 FM
• Rhema FM 99.9 (Christian)
• 2-Way FM 103.9 (Community)

Triple J (JJJ) is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station (a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), mainly aimed at youth (defined as those between 12 and 25). ... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation or ABC is Australias national non-profit public broadcaster. ... ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide radio network with many various programs, involving news and current affairs, arts, music, society, science, drama and comedy. ... ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly-owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ... ABC Classic FM is Australian classical radio station available in major centres around the country. ... Rhema FM is the name of a number of Christian radio stations formerly affiliated with United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) in Australia. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
• Port Macquarie Tourist Information
• Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
• Festival of the Sun
• Port Macquarie Hastings Municipal Band
• Greater Port Macquarie Focus Magazine
• St Columba Anglican School
• Greater Port Macquarie Discover Magazine

Coordinates: 31°26′S 152°54′E / -31.433, 152.9 Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...