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.
Roto House
Located within the Macquarie Nature Reserve this house was built in 1890 by James Condon for John Edmund Flynn, a land surveyor who settled in Port Macquarie in 1885.
The property, originally 74 acres (30 hectares) consisted of an orchard, vineyard, creamery and flower garden. The house, built of red mahogany, is very generously proportioned and has been restored.
Members of the Flynn family lived in this house from 1890 to the 1970’s. The nearby Flynn’s beach (which we think is the best beach in Port) is named after this family.
It is classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Note: The cache is outside the premises as the house is managed by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change which doesn't allow caches in the areas managed by them. To see the house, enter via Roto Place (see Entrance wpt) and proceed to car park .