Port Macquarie - New South Wales

[video=youtube_share;kdgzGvUXIP4]

Port Macquarie is a town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 390 km (242 mi) north of Sydney, and 570 km (354 mi) south of Brisbane. The town is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and at the eastern end of the Oxley Highway (B56).

The estimated urban population of Port Macquarie was 44,875 as at June 2014, having grown 1.6 % on prior year and from 39,471 over the prior decade. Port Macquarie is expected to be the fastest growing place in New South Wales. The town is expected to grow from an estimated 43,655 people in 2009 to 58,888 in 2027.

87% of the population were born in Australia whilst 5.2% came from the UK.

37% of the population are over 60 years old.

General

Port Macquarie is a retirement destination, known for its extensive beaches and waterways. The town is also known for its koala population, being the home to the Billabong Koala Park, and the Koala Preservation Society's Koala Hospital, caring for koalas injured through bushfire, dog attacks and collisions with vehicles.

In recent times, real estate developments have led to debates with residents, in particular the Rydges Hotel (formerly Four Points by Sheraton) built opposite the Town Green. The Post Office on the Town Green was demolished to make way for a new apartment block, a development that saw the controversial removal of several large fig trees and subsequent debate in the community about the value of public space.

The residential suburbs stretch to Lighthouse Beach in the south, Thrumster to the west and to North Shore, on the northern bank of the river. In July 2010, Sovereign Hills began development in the west.

Port Macquarie was found to be the least affordable smaller city in Australia by Demographia's 2013 International Housing Affordability Survey.

CBD

Port Macquarie's central business district contains two shopping centres, a marina, the beginnings of a coastal walk, and many specialty stores. A centrally located arts, conference and entertainment centre includes a visitor-information facility. Bus services link the CBD, with Laurieton, Wauchope, Kempsey, Lake Cathie and Bonny Hills.

Transit Hill

Transit Hill to the south is crowned by telecommunication towers. The district is the site of two arterial roads which provide a direct link between Lighthouse Beach and Port Macquarie CBD. The main intersection of Pacific and Kennedy Drive is situated midway up Transit Hill.

It is an area of high-priced real estate owing to ocean and city views. Transit Hill borders Lighthouse Beach, Dahlsford, Shelly Beach and Waniora.

Beaches

Beaches (in order from north to south) are: 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. Lighthouse Beach is patrolled at only the northern end. Dogs can be walked off-leash at Lighthouse Beach, south of Watonga Rocks, excluding sections at the northern end.

Property

The average price for buying a house is $480,000 for a 3 bed. Property can be found here http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/property-rural-acreage-villa-townhouse-house-in-port%20macquarie,+nsw/list-1

The average rental price is $410 per week

Rentals can be found here http://www.realestate.com.au/rent/property-rural-acreage-villa-townhouse-house-in-port%20macquarie,+nsw/list-1

Education

Preschools/Child Care

Bangalay Child Care Centre Port Macquarie

Blooming Kids Eary Learning and Long Day Care Centre

Columba Cottage Early Learning Centre

Fernhill Road Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

Goodstart Early Learning Port Macquarie

Hastings Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

Lighthouse Child Care Centre

Moruya Drive Child Care Centre

Port Macquarie Community Preschool

Portside Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

St.Joseph's Family Services

St.Joseph's Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

Primary schools

Public schools

Port Macquarie Public School

Hastings Public School

Tacking Point Public School

Westport Public School

Catholic schools

St. Joseph's Primary School

St. Peter's Primary School

St. Agnes' Primary School

Other private schools

Port Macquarie Adventist School

Heritage Christian School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

St Columba Anglican School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

High schools

Public schools

Port Macquarie High School

Westport High School

Catholic schools

St. Joseph's Regional College

Mackillop College (formerly St. Paul's High School & MacKillop Senior College)

Newman Senior Technical College (Year 11 & 12)

Private schools

Heritage Christian School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

Newman Senior Technical College (Year 11 & 12)

St Columba Anglican School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

Tertiary 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 2012, Charles Sturt University set up a campus with a small number of programs available in accounting and business studies, health sciences, policing, psychology and social work. This was in response to significant research designed to retain young people in the area and contribute to the growth of the educational standards for the Hastings region.

Transport

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

Port Macquarie is linked by a 6 Day Shuttle Service called Holiday Coast Connections. The area it services comprises Port Macquarie, Lake Cathie, Bonny Hills, Laurieton, Kew, Taree, Forster, Bulahdelah, Newcastle Airport, Newcastle Railway, John Hunter Hospital, Mater Hospital and Newcastle Uni.

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. Improvements to the Oxley and Pacific Highway has seen steady improvements in travel times between Sydney and the mid-north coast region from 6 hours to just 4 hours (from Wahroonga to the Oxley Highway interchange);

There is no railway station in Port Macquarie city proper. However, the Port Macquarie CBD and northern suburbs are served by the nearby Wauchope Railway Station, and the southern suburbs including satellite towns of Lake Cathie and Laurieton are served by Kendall Railway Station. Both stations are on the North Coast Line operated by NSW Trainlink with 3 services daily each direction with travel time to Sydney of approx. 6 hours. There is a railway-operated connecting bus service available from Wauchope Railway Station to the Port Macquarie CBD.

Port Macquarie Airport has regular flights to Sydney with QantasLink (5 times daily) and Virgin Australia (twice daily), and also to Lord Howe Island with QantasLink and Brisbane with Virgin Australia.

Annual events

Notable events held in the Port Macquarie area include:

Pacific Coast Slam (January)

Mountain Bike Festival of Australia – Port Macquarie (first weekend of June)

Tasting on Hastings – month-long food festival (October)

Sundowner BREAM Classic (November)

Festival of the Sun (December)

Ironman

ORARC's Annual Field Day Weekend

Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Field Day (Queen's Birthday Long Weekend)

Port Macquarie Kart Racing Club's East Coast National Championships

We love Port Macquarie, have been there a few times and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even looked for some land up there recently. Absolutely idyllic place.

Ahh looks beautiful... Would love to start there when we arrive, or somewhere similar.... But I get the impression from seek and the general description that there'll not be much Youth Work there for hubs. Unfortunately I think Youth work goes hand in hand with social issues and this place looks like it would have little.... It sounds absolutely gorgeous.

[video=youtube_share;kdgzGvUXIP4]

 

Port Macquarie is a town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 390 km (242 mi) north of Sydney, and 570 km (354 mi) south of Brisbane. The town is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and at the eastern end of the Oxley Highway (B56).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]32994[/ATTACH]

 

The estimated urban population of Port Macquarie was 44,875 as at June 2014, having grown 1.6 % on prior year and from 39,471 over the prior decade. Port Macquarie is expected to be the fastest growing place in New South Wales. The town is expected to grow from an estimated 43,655 people in 2009 to 58,888 in 2027.

 

87% of the population were born in Australia whilst 5.2% came from the UK.

37% of the population are over 60 years old.

 

General

 

Port Macquarie is a retirement destination, known for its extensive beaches and waterways. The town is also known for its koala population, being the home to the Billabong Koala Park, and the Koala Preservation Society's Koala Hospital, caring for koalas injured through bushfire, dog attacks and collisions with vehicles.

 

In recent times, real estate developments have led to debates with residents, in particular the Rydges Hotel (formerly Four Points by Sheraton) built opposite the Town Green. The Post Office on the Town Green was demolished to make way for a new apartment block, a development that saw the controversial removal of several large fig trees and subsequent debate in the community about the value of public space.

 

The residential suburbs stretch to Lighthouse Beach in the south, Thrumster to the west and to North Shore, on the northern bank of the river. In July 2010, Sovereign Hills began development in the west.

 

Port Macquarie was found to be the least affordable smaller city in Australia by Demographia's 2013 International Housing Affordability Survey.

 

 

 

CBD

Port Macquarie's central business district contains two shopping centres, a marina, the beginnings of a coastal walk, and many specialty stores. A centrally located arts, conference and entertainment centre includes a visitor-information facility. Bus services link the CBD, with Laurieton, Wauchope, Kempsey, Lake Cathie and Bonny Hills.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]32995[/ATTACH]

 

Transit Hill

 

Transit Hill to the south is crowned by telecommunication towers. The district is the site of two arterial roads which provide a direct link between Lighthouse Beach and Port Macquarie CBD. The main intersection of Pacific and Kennedy Drive is situated midway up Transit Hill.

 

It is an area of high-priced real estate owing to ocean and city views. Transit Hill borders Lighthouse Beach, Dahlsford, Shelly Beach and Waniora.

 

Beaches

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]32996[/ATTACH]

Beaches (in order from north to south) are: 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. Lighthouse Beach is patrolled at only the northern end. Dogs can be walked off-leash at Lighthouse Beach, south of Watonga Rocks, excluding sections at the northern end.

 

 

Property

 

The average price for buying a house is $480,000 for a 3 bed. Property can be found here http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/property-rural-acreage-villa-townhouse-house-in-port%20macquarie,+nsw/list-1

 

The average rental price is $410 per week

Rentals can be found here http://www.realestate.com.au/rent/property-rural-acreage-villa-townhouse-house-in-port%20macquarie,+nsw/list-1

 

 

Education

 

Preschools/Child Care

 

Bangalay Child Care Centre Port Macquarie

Blooming Kids Eary Learning and Long Day Care Centre

Columba Cottage Early Learning Centre

Fernhill Road Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

Goodstart Early Learning Port Macquarie

Hastings Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

Lighthouse Child Care Centre

Moruya Drive Child Care Centre

Port Macquarie Community Preschool

Portside Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

St.Joseph's Family Services

St.Joseph's Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

 

Primary schools

 

Public schools

Port Macquarie Public School

Hastings Public School

Tacking Point Public School

Westport Public School

 

Catholic schools

St. Joseph's Primary School

St. Peter's Primary School

St. Agnes' Primary School

 

Other private schools

Port Macquarie Adventist School

Heritage Christian School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

St Columba Anglican School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

 

High schools

 

Public schools

Port Macquarie High School

Westport High School

 

Catholic schools

St. Joseph's Regional College

Mackillop College (formerly St. Paul's High School & MacKillop Senior College)

Newman Senior Technical College (Year 11 & 12)

 

Private schools

Heritage Christian School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

Newman Senior Technical College (Year 11 & 12)

St Columba Anglican School (Kindergarten to Year 12)

 

Tertiary 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 2012, Charles Sturt University set up a campus with a small number of programs available in accounting and business studies, health sciences, policing, psychology and social work. This was in response to significant research designed to retain young people in the area and contribute to the growth of the educational standards for the Hastings region.

 

 

Transport

 

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

 

Port Macquarie is linked by a 6 Day Shuttle Service called Holiday Coast Connections. The area it services comprises Port Macquarie, Lake Cathie, Bonny Hills, Laurieton, Kew, Taree, Forster, Bulahdelah, Newcastle Airport, Newcastle Railway, John Hunter Hospital, Mater Hospital and Newcastle Uni.

 

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. Improvements to the Oxley and Pacific Highway has seen steady improvements in travel times between Sydney and the mid-north coast region from 6 hours to just 4 hours (from Wahroonga to the Oxley Highway interchange);

 

 

There is no railway station in Port Macquarie city proper. However, the Port Macquarie CBD and northern suburbs are served by the nearby Wauchope Railway Station, and the southern suburbs including satellite towns of Lake Cathie and Laurieton are served by Kendall Railway Station. Both stations are on the North Coast Line operated by NSW Trainlink with 3 services daily each direction with travel time to Sydney of approx. 6 hours. There is a railway-operated connecting bus service available from Wauchope Railway Station to the Port Macquarie CBD.

 

Port Macquarie Airport has regular flights to Sydney with QantasLink (5 times daily) and Virgin Australia (twice daily), and also to Lord Howe Island with QantasLink and Brisbane with Virgin Australia.

 

Annual events

 

Notable events held in the Port Macquarie area include:

 

Pacific Coast Slam (January)

Mountain Bike Festival of Australia – Port Macquarie (first weekend of June)

Tasting on Hastings – month-long food festival (October)

Sundowner BREAM Classic (November)

Festival of the Sun (December)

Ironman

ORARC's Annual Field Day Weekend

Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Field Day (Queen's Birthday Long Weekend)

Port Macquarie Kart Racing Club's East Coast National Championships

Thia post is Brilliant Pom Queen

Spent some time there a few years back and loved it.

We use to always come here for holidays and loved it so much that we moved here 3 years ago. Truly is paradise. Still feel like we are on holiday. We have a regular Koala that sits in the tree in our back garden. The only down side is job opportunities, unless you work in health, teaching and tourism. We don't have a great variety of shops so do most of my Christmas shopping online. However worth the sacrafice to live in such a beautiful town.

i am really drawn to this town so much that I have made contact with one of the schools enquiring about enrolment requirements for my children. Like most people moving to OZ getting a job is a key factor. I am a social worker & currently commute 30 mins to my place of work. I used to commute 1hour each way till December 2015 when my child care arrangements fell through so I had to move closer to work.

i prefer to live outside of the area where I practice so I am interested in towns within 30-40 mins away from Port Macquarie for my job search. With good enough transport links too. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

i am really drawn to this town so much that I have made contact with one of the schools enquiring about enrolment requirements for my children. Like most people moving to OZ getting a job is a key factor. I am a social worker & currently commute 30 mins to my place of work. I used to commute 1hour each way till December 2015 when my child care arrangements fell through so I had to move closer to work.

i prefer to live outside of the area where I practice so I am interested in towns within 30-40 mins away from Port Macquarie for my job search. With good enough transport links too. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Yes. Kempsey.

It's a reasonable distance from Port and (as I understand it) is completely different socio-economically.

Kempsey is an ordinary country town with a sizeable aboriginal population. I would start there.

Similarly, Taree in the other direction would be the other town to look at for work prospects.

Thanks Niky Nook :wink:

i prefer to live outside of the area where I practice so I am interested in towns within 30-40 mins away from Port Macquarie for my job search. With good enough transport links too.

Transport links will be your problem anywhere you live in Australia, unless you're in a capital city. Public transport between towns is poor, and sometimes non-existent. Even where it does exist, buses are often infrequent.

For instance I used to live in Warracknabeal (Victoria). It's about 40 minutes drive from Horsham (the main regional centre) but there is no local bus between the two.

When we first arrived (my oh got a job in the local school) we had to be met by one of the staff in Ballarat - two hours away - and driven to Warracknabeal. The next day we had to get someone to drive us back to Horsham so we could buy a car, as there was no other way to get around. That won't be the case in Port, of course, but it gives you an idea how difficult it can be to get around in the country. You will need to drive!

That's food for thought Marisawright

I do drive and we intend to ship our car over so hopefully commuting will be manageable.

Hi

So im new to the site and im looking for some help.

Myself and my family are relocating to Port Macquarie in September this year. My partner will be coming sooner, however I have to stay in the UK a little longer to ensure that our daughter finishes school etc.

I must say, the area looks fantastic and I cant wait to move over.

Wondering if anyone is able to help to point me in the right direction. Im really confused about the education system. Our daughter will be leaving school this year and would normally be heading to college to complete a two year course that she wants to do. Ive tried looking at the local schools on line and im not entirely sure if she needs to go back into school or can go to college, I keep finding conflicting information.

Secondly, I wanted to understand a bit more about jobs in the area, ive looked on a number of job boards and im failing to see any jobs in my area. I am a qualified and experienced Human Resources Advisor, but I cant seem to see any jobs around in that remit – should I be searching for something else?

Thanks in advance for your help

Laura

Secondly, I wanted to understand a bit more about jobs in the area, ive looked on a number of job boards and im failing to see any jobs in my area. I am a qualified and experienced Human Resources Advisor, but I cant seem to see any jobs around in that remit – should I be searching for something else?

 

You probably can't find any HR jobs because there aren't any.

Port Macquarie is not that big - population is about 45k - and easily half of the 45k would be retired so not exactly in need of HR advice.

The biggest employer would be the local council, the local health service and other government organisations. Most other employers would be small businesses.

To be honest, Port Macquarie is probably not the optimum town for progressing a career in HR.

Myself and my family are relocating to Port Macquarie in September this year. My partner will be coming sooner, however I have to stay in the UK a little longer to ensure that our daughter finishes school etc.

 

Wondering if anyone is able to help to point me in the right direction. Im really confused about the education system. Our daughter will be leaving school this year and would normally be heading to college to complete a two year course that she wants to do. Ive tried looking at the local schools on line and im not entirely sure if she needs to go back into school or can go to college, I keep finding conflicting information.

 

Secondly, I wanted to understand a bit more about jobs in the area, ive looked on a number of job boards and im failing to see any jobs in my area. I am a qualified and experienced Human Resources Advisor, but I cant seem to see any jobs around in that remit – should I be searching for something else?

 

Thanks in advance for your help

 

Laura

How old is your daughter? If you're thinking of something like a Sixth Form College, they do exist in the big cities but I'd be surprised if there is one in a small place like Pt Macquarie.

I'm afraid you may have to consider a change of career, as there are few large companies in or near Port Macquarie as far as I know. Seek.com.au is the main website to check for job opportunities.

Port Macquarie is a reasonably sized town, big enough to have more than one pub, which is one way I measure size! But it might take a while to get a specific job so perhaps, yes, take what you can get. It's a seaside resort so there will be seasonal work. Unfortunately, in Australia, most of the work tends to be in the state capital cities.

There are some facilities for post high school training. I went back to The Pom Queen's notes and pasted this:

Tertiary 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 2012, Charles Sturt University set up a campus with a small number of programs available in accounting and business studies, health sciences, policing, psychology and social work. This was in response to significant research designed to retain young people in the area and contribute to the growth of the educational standards for the Hastings region.

This website from the University of Newcastle may be of help to you depending upon the course your daughter wants to study.

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/our-environments/our-campuses-and-locations/port-macquarie

This is the website for TAFE in Port Macquarie. (I'm pretty sure that TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education.)

http://www.northcoasttafe.edu.au/campuses/port-macquarie.aspx?gclid=COH3ipW2gtQCFQqjvQodGq0OlQ

Another option is to study by distance learning/off campus whichever the correct term is? I am doing a BA degree with the Open University Australia which offers courses taught (on line) by a number of Australian universities, e.g., in my case, Macquarie in Sydney, Griffith in Queensland, and both Curtin and Murdoch in WA. Other universities, like Uni of Newcastle above probably have their own on line distance learning. I know the University of New England in Armidale does.

https://online.une.edu/online-learning/

Open University

https://www.open.edu.au

I didn't realize this is an old thread. Oh well, it may still be useful.

We went camping in Port Macquarie last Easter. 

We could not ask for more.

Beautiful landscape to enjoy a peaceful day.

Port Mac, has probably the best climate in the country.  Situated roughly 1/2 way between Sydney and Brisbane it’s neither too hot during the summer and milder during the winter.

Its a small town, surround by smaller villages.  The climate and relaxed atmosphere attract many retirees, the place can feel like a big retirement village.

a lot of the business in the area is just local, shops, restaurants and essential trades. Finding work could be difficult, especially as a lot of people escape the rat race like Sydney for a sea change.

if you are a health professional or in social services then you might have a better chance, having a large aged population ensures the local base hospital is always busy.

21 hours ago, Joebloggs said:

Port Mac, has probably the best climate in the country.  ...Finding work could be difficul

I wonder about that.  We were up in Port Macquarie a few times last year, visiting a sick relative.   We got talking to an official at the airport there and he said more and more flights are being scheduled into Port Macquarie because there are so many FIFO workers coming in (fly in/fly out).  We got interrupted before I could ask why there are so many workers being flown in, but I assume it means there must be mining roundabout?

Love Port Maquarie... we're planning a road-trip up the NSW coast for our honeymoon, and can't wait to visit again

I’m moving over Xmas with my primary school daughters. Can’t wait!!

Love love love port macquarie! But yes there are a lack of jobs there. Try indeed for job searches aswell. 

Tafe is what you want to look at for further training after school .

Also port mac is a fair drive from sydney airport if this is a factor, about 5 hours i think 

Looks like a nice place. Was thinking of holidaying there and checking it out in August 2020. Of course Covid ruined my plans.

46 minutes ago, FatCat said:

Looks like a nice place. Was thinking of holidaying there and checking it out in August 2020. Of course Covid ruined my plans.

I thought NSW was mostly OK for NSW residents? When I drove up to Surfers from Sydney in July i was thinking of stopping overnight in Port Macquarie* but I stopped at Taree instead.

* How do they abbreviate it? Port? PMaq? 2444?

1 minute ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I thought NSW was mostly OK for NSW residents?

It is. But with things changing so rapidly from day to day, prefer to stay closer to home for now.

Yes, I know that feeling. I seized the opportunity when the QLD border opened in July to come up to QLD, and now that I'm here I  rarely go further than three or four kilometres from Surfers Paradise.

Apparently, many people from Victoria have cut short their holidays to rush back to Victoria and avoid having to go into two weeks' quarantine. Ironic in the sense that nobody in QLD has got Covid.