Port Macquarie (pop. 47,793) is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Hastings River, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Sydney. Port Macquarie is a well-known tourist resort famous for its beaches and historical landmarks. 
The Port Macquarie region is noted for fishing. Its oysters are among the best in the world. The area around the Hastings River is also known for its winemaking, a local industry that dates back to 1837.
Port Macquarie has many natural attractions, including local beaches and the Port Macquarie coastal walk. Historical sites include St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, built between 1824 and 1828, and the Port Macquarie Courthouse, built in 1869. The Tacking Point lighthouse, constructed in 1879, is one of the oldest lighthouses in Australia. The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital was founded in 1973. It serves as a wildlife rehabilitation and scientific research center and educates thousands of visitors about koalas each year.
The Birpai people are the traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the Hastings River area. John Oxley, the surveyor-general for the New South Wales colonial government, encountered the Hastings River during an exploratory expedition in 1818. He named the area near the mouth of the river after Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Oxley also recommended the land as a place to relocate convicts who had committed crimes after their transportation to Australia. Macquarie sent the first group of convicts and soldiers to the area in 1821.
The settlement grew throughout the 1820’s. After the area became too crowded to continue to serve as a place to banish repeat offenders, it was converted into a convict hospital. At the same time, Port Macquarie was opened to free settlers. The last convicts were removed from the area in 1847.
Ranchers began settling in Port Macquarie in the 1860’s, which boosted the town’s economy. A North Coast Railway line was added in 1910. Port Macquarie experienced another period of economic growth beginning in the 1960’s.
From late 2019 to early 2020, devastating bushfires raged across large areas of Australia. Fires caused a large amount of damage in the Port Macquarie region. In 2021, the area was impacted by flooding of the Hastings River, which also caused extensive property damage.
