| Macksville | |
Location: | 489km north of Sydney on the Pacific Highway |
Shire: | Nambucca |
Population: | 2869 |
Postcode: | 2447 |
The Nambucca River town of Macksville on the north coast is a fishing and oysterfarming centre servicing a prosperous fertile district engaged in timber, crops, bananas, grazing and dairying. Cedargetters pioneered the area in the 1840s and the first settlers arrived in the 1870s.
The town was originally known as Central Nambucca and then Wilson before two pioneer Scotsmen, Mackay and McNally, subdivided their farm and built the Star Hotel in 1885. By common usage the name became 'Macks Village'.
Those early days of settlement are preserved in the Mary Boulton Pioneer Cottage, which replicates an early pioneer home and displays relics of the area. The cottage is 2km from the Post Office in River Street and is open by appointment.
In the area, Scotts Head has fine surfing beaches, swimming and deepsea fishing. Nearby Bowraville boasts the Joseph and Eliza Folk Museum and at Taylors Arm the Cosmopolitan Pub (1903) is the pub made famous in the song 'A Pub with no Beer' and Bakers Creek Station offers horse riding, canoeing, barbecue and picnic areas. Way Way State Forest, 7km south of Macksville, offers a 29km round trip scenic drive, forest walks and Yarrahapinni Lookout.