Port Macquarie Accommodation
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History & Landmarks

Historical Sites and Landmarks in the Greater Port Macquarie Region

Established as a penal colony in 1821, Port Macquarie boasts a history as rich and colorful as its origins.  And while modern Port Macquarie is a growing town of more than 70,000 residents, many of its original buildings are still standing, providing a compelling link between past and present.
 
Today, scholars, history buffs, families, and school and church groups visit Port Macquarie’s historical sites and landmarks to connect with their heritage. Visitors learn about the Aboriginal tribes, convicts and European settlers who were Port Macquarie’s early inhabitants, and how they lived, worked, prayed and played.
    • Timbertown – A re-created pioneer village, complete with steam train and freshly sawn timber. 
    • Douglas Vale Vineyard – The restored 1862 homestead of vigneron George Francis is listed by the National Trust 
    • Smokey Cape Lighthouse – An architectural beauty featuring a unique octagonal tower 
    • Mid North Coast Maritime Museum – Maritime history comes alive through a small collection of artifacts, charts, maps, photographs and scale models of various vessels.
    • Hayward House – Birth home of Frederick Hayward, Port Macquarie’s second mayor 
    •  Historic Cemetery – Following the first burial in 1824, 1500 soldiers, convicts and early settlers were laid to rest here 
    •  Historic Courthouse – Built in 1869 and restored in 1993, this building was in use for 117 years before a new courthouse was built in 1986 
    • Lake Innes Ruins – Remnants of the lavish house built by convicts for Major Archibald Clunes between 1831 and 1843.
    • Port Macquarie Historical Museum – Historically significant artifacts related to Aboriginal culture, European settlement, the penal colony, free settlement, farming, the timber industry, domestic life, travel and more.
    • Roto House – Located within the Macquarie Nature Reserve, this house was built from red mahogany in 1890.
    • Royal Hotel – Built in 1841 to accommodate visiting military officers and new settlers, the hotel burned to the ground in 1886 and was rebuilt in 1887.
    • St. Thomas Anglican Church – The fifth oldest Anglican Church still in use in Australia, built by convicts between 1824 and 1828.
    • Town Green – Home of the three-masted topsail schooner Alma Doepel, Birpai Healing Garden, Lady Nelson Wharf, a life-size bronze sculpture of Sir Edmund Barton, and more.
    • Wesleyan Chapel – The first Methodist Church on the North Coast, built in 1845.
    • Westpac Bank – Opened in 1893, the building’s distinctive façade still bears the appearance of the original structure.
 
 
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Planning a getaway to magnificent Port Macquarie? Let Beachside Holiday Apartments make your trip an unforgettable one.  Accommodations are available on a nightly, weekly or monthly basis—and you can book your holiday reservations securely online. 

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Port Macquarie has many historic landmarks dating back to the convicts and early settlers. Take a visit to the historic cemetery, courthouse, churches, historical museum and maritimes museum, and be amazed at what you will learn about our area.