Why Port Macquarie?
What 2444 has that nowhere else does. Every fact sourced.
- Rainforest that reaches the beach
Sea Acres National Park protects one of the largest remaining coastal rainforests on Australia's east coast. An elevated boardwalk takes you through it, and the forest runs down to the beach.Source: NSW National Parks
- Australia's first sugar cane
In November 1821, Port Macquarie became the site of the first sugar cane grown in Australia.Source: Wikipedia
- A Greenway church built 1824–1828
St Thomas's Anglican Church was designed by Francis Greenway and built by convicts from 1824 to 1828. Its Walker pipe organ is the only one of its type in the Southern Hemisphere.Source: Wikipedia
- The world's first koala festival
The Hello Koalas Festival started in 2017 and runs every September. It's described as the world's first festival celebrating the koala.Source: Wikipedia
And the whole area: Why Port?
Big river, bigger story. Every fact sourced.
- Koalas get their own hospital
Port Macquarie's Koala Hospital was the first dedicated koala hospital in Australia.Source: Koala Conservation Australia
- Birpai Country
The Birpai people are recognised as the Traditional Custodians of the Port Macquarie area.Source: Wikipedia
- A lighthouse from 1879
Tacking Point Lighthouse was built in 1879 to a design by Colonial Architect James Barnet.Source: Wikipedia
- Started as a penal settlement
Port Macquarie was founded as a penal settlement in 1821, named by explorer John Oxley after Governor Lachlan Macquarie.Source: Wikipedia
- Wauchope timber in the Opera House
Timber from the Yarras Plywood Sawmill near Wauchope was used in building the Sydney Opera House.Source: Wikipedia
Know a fact we've missed? Tell us.