Port Macquarie was established in 1821 after John Oxley in October 1818 followed the Hastings River from the mountains and came across this idyllic port which he proclaimed to be a “paradise of great significance and potential”.
Port Macquarie was initially used as a place of secondary punishment, to receive convicts who had transgressed the law a second time after transportation to the Colony. Port's convict population peaked in 1825, but was then progressively run down until 1830 when the Hastings Valley was opened up to free settlement.
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St Thomas’ Anglican Church
One of Port Macquarie's most historic buildings, the church of St Thomas the Apostle dominates the landscape by land and river, as it did in early times.
It is the fifth oldest Anglican Church still in use in Australia and was built by convict labour under military supervision. Although the foundation stone was laid in 1824 the first service was not held until 1828.
Beneath the floor of the front pews is the grave of Captain Rolland, who died of sunstroke and was buried one month before his second -in-command laid the foundation stone during a service conducted by Reverend Thomas Hassall.
The Church is classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW) and is also registered on the National Estate.
Other early buildings on the site are the former military surgeon's residence, now the Administrative Centre and the surgeon's dispensary, now the Colonial Chapel of Christ the Healer.
The Cache
A small tube container with not much room for swaps.