Natural Playground

A correspondent wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald in 1923 suggesting that Comboyne had unequalled scenic attractions for tourists. ‘No other spot in Australia can offer such a varied panorama to the lover of nature’s beauty. The stately hardwoods, the fragrant brush woods, the graceful palms and ferns, and the myriads of parrots and satin birds all combine to make the Comboyne a veritable fairyland’.

Port Macquarie’s mild coastal climate earned it the motto of being ‘Warm in Winter – Cool in Summer’, of which the town was very proud. Port Macquarie was recognised as a sea-side health resort in Ludwig Bruck’s ‘Guide to the Health Resorts in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand’ published in 1888, likening the climate to that of Lisbon.

Irene Edwards a dental technician, keen shell collector and shell artist opened her one room shell collection to the public as a museum during the 1940s and 1950s.  Most of her shell collection was gathered from the Great Barrier Reef. Miss Edwards’ shell work, which included ornaments and trinkets, was for sale to visitors.

Reserved by the Crown in 1913 as part of Shelly Beach Flora Reserve, Sea Acres was designated a wildlife refuge in 1967.  Now a National Park, Sea Acres is described as a ‘beach wrapped in rainforest, where the crash of waves is accompanied by a choir of birdsong’. It protects one the largest remaining coastal rainforests on the east coast of Australia.

During the 1970s and 1980s Port Macquarie was the home of many animal and wildlife parks including the Dolphin and Marine Park, later known as King Neptune’s Park. The  park opened to the public in 1973 and was home to seals, dolphins and other marine life. Located at the end of the breakwater, the park was a popular tourist attraction right up until its closure in January 1989.

Markbuk Park, an Australiana and Wildlife attraction opened in November 1969. The park’s main exhibits were reptiles and particularly Big Mumma, an 85 year old crocodile measuring 14 feet in length. Marbuk Park was short lived closing in 1975. Billabong Zoo was established in 1986 as a Koala breeding centre and is now a major wildlife tourist attraction. It has a crocodile named Shrek.