Australian Towns & Cities
New South Wales: Coffs Harbour
Incorporating photos and Information from Michael Greenslade's former Australian Towns, Cities and Highways site

Coffs Harbour, a popular tourist destination on the northern NSW coast, lies along the Pacific Highway between Port Macquarie & Grafton. Set on a relatively narrow strip of land between the Great Dividing Range and the coast, the city is surrounded by vast quantities of spectacular scenery and excellent surf beaches.

Established in the 1860's around the nearby natural harbour, the town initially grew slowly around mixed use farming which mainly featured timber, dairying, bananas and sugar. Stronger growth occurred post WW1 after the arrival of the railway and when the regions banana plantations became more important due to disease affecting those further north.

From the 1960's and 70's the region boomed due to increasing popularity from both tourism and retirees which sprouted several coastal developments north and south of the town centre. Consequently Coffs Harbour (now a city) has become an important regional centre in the state.

Of interest in the area include the Big Banana (3km north), the Coffs Harbour Zoo, Muttonbird Island, Surf beaches (north to Woolgoolga and south to Sawtell), the Clog Barn (miniature Dutch village) and several national parks to the west.


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Sapphire Beach:
South-facing view of Sapphire Beach at Korora, September 2016.

Image © Michael Greenslade

Sapphire Beach:
Boardwalk leading to Sapphire Beach at Korora, September 2016.

Image © Michael Greenslade

Sapphire Beach:
North-facing view of Sapphire Beach at Korora, September 2016.

Image © Michael Greenslade

Sapphire Beach:
South-facing view of Sapphire Beach at Korora, September 2016.

Image © Michael Greenslade

Coffs Harbour:
Coffs Harbour town centre viewed from Korora Lookout, September 2016.

Image © Michael Greenslade

Coffs Harbour:
Coffs Harbour town centre viewed from Korora Lookout, September 2016.

Image © Michael Greenslade

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016 Census QuickStats

Last updated: 21-Aug-2020 23:37

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