Forster-Tuncurry (pop. 20,554) is an area on the southeast coast of Australia, in the state of New South Wales. It includes the towns of Forster and Tuncurry, which lie on either side of Cape Hawke Harbour, between Wallis Lake and the Tasman Sea. A bridge connects the two towns. Forster-Tuncurry is about 190 miles (300 kilometers) north of Sydney, Australia.
Forster-Tuncurry is a resort area known for its beaches. Popular activities there include fishing, surfing, and swimming. Booti Booti National Park is nearby. Fishing and tourism are important industries in Forster-Tuncurry. The area is famous for its oysters.
Indigenous peoples, also called First Nations peoples, have inhabited the Forster-Tuncurry area for thousands of years. First Nations are the original inhabitants of the land that is now Australia. They include Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Forster-Tuncurry lies within the traditional lands of the Worimi Aboriginal peoples.
Europeans began settling in the area in the mid-1800’s. Their settlement, known as Minimbah, was surveyed in 1869. In 1870, Minimbah was renamed Forster, after the colonial official William Forster. The shipbuilder John Wright settled in the area known as North Forster in 1875. Wright called that area Tuncurry. The name is thought to mean plenty of fish in the Aboriginal language of the Worimi peoples. Tuncurry became a village in 1893.
