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Port-Macquarie-coastal-village
Port-Macquarie-coastal-village

Port Macquarie coastal village

Port Macquarie coastal village originally was a penal colony, these days many people retire in Port Macquarie on the NSW coast (4 hours north of Sydney), because of the temperate climate, good fishing & boating and nice beaches. I think it is the pick of the NSW coastal towns. 

At the end of this post you will see how one of my distant relatives Helen Gillies arrived in Port Macquarie in 1833 after being convicted for stealing in Glasgow and shipped to Australia. Helen was my grandfather’s grandmother 🙂

Port Macquarie is famous for fresh seafood

Port Macquarie coastal village

 

Beautiful fresh prawns & delicious oysters, in fact my favourite lunch in Port is prawns & avocado on freshly baked bread with a dozen oysters natural to begin.

Port Macquarie coastal village

Port Macquarie coastal villageAs good as it gets. 🙂

The Hastings River

Port Macquarie coastal village

 

Hastings River is also the name of a small, developing wine region. The main clusters of vineyards are located in Port Macquarie and Wauchope.

The region was first planted with vines in the 1860s but recent history of the area has been pioneered by the Cassegrain family with Verdelho

Hastings River’s cellar door facilities, music events, regional restaurants, coastal attractions and great climate are serving to build interest in the local wine industry.

Beachhouse Pub formally Royal Hotel est 1840

Port Macquarie coastal village

Great place to relax and enjoy a few cold beers on a hot day. 🙂

Vintage cars in Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie coastal village

Everybody loves these old cars.

Love the colour

Port Macquarie coastal village

 

Certainly not the original colour.

Luxury camper van

Port Macquarie coastal village

On the way to Port Macquarie we saw this luxury vehicle in Coffs Harbour.

My brother Warren lives in Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie coastal village

Warren has lived & worked in Port Macquarie for over 20 years, he & his wife Kerry raised four great children who are now having children of their own. The Herd family has grown incredibly over the last 50 years, I have put a lot of the family history in a post called Following the Herd. My uncle Allan Herd also lived in Port Macquarie for many years, he passed away at the age of 95 in July 2012, his story as a soldier in WW2 is the most dramatic event in our family history, it’s a tale worth reading.


My lovely niece Laura & Jordan Millar.

Port Macquarie coastal village

Laura grew up in Port Macquarie, she is a talented singer/song writer. Here she is with her boyfriend Jordan Millar at The Fig in Port Macquarie.

Family & friends

Port Macquarie coastal village

 Three brothers, Warren, Ian, David with Kerry and Chris enjoy dinner in Port Macquarie.

The Wall of China restaurant

Port Macquarie coastal village

                   Very good Chinese food at this popular restaurant.

Classic council sign

Port Macquarie coastal village

 

Here is a classic council sign in Port Macquarie on the NSW coast. A friend of mine who works for Trowbridge council in Wiltshire in the U.K. arranged for a couple of these to be erected in Trowbridge, after a couple of months and numerous complaints from the public they took them down.

And I thought the Pommies had a sense of humour.

Helen Gillies

Port Macquarie coastal village

 

Helen arrived in Port Macquarie in 1833 after being convicted for stealing in Glasgow and shipped to Australia. Helen was my grandfather’s grandmother, she was 4′ 11″ tall. 🙂

Records found in the Old Courthouse in October 1998

Port Macquarie coastal village

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Jordan Miller & Laura Bell Herd at the Fig.

               Thanks for visiting my Port Macquarie coastal village photo blog.
 

                Istanbul                                 Budapest                        London

Fascinating Istanbul Asia Meets Europe     Hungarian Parliament Building (2)       The Walkie Talkie (5)    

          Mostar                           Dubrobnik                            Split

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                 Saigon                            Zagreb                          Vung tau

Ho Chi Minh City South Vietnam       Main Square (3)     Vung Tau statue (6)

Pattaya live webcam
 
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That’s all folks

1g Duck

 
Counter only started June 16 2020.

 

 

Author: David Herd

My history, particularly over the last 30 years is dominated by overseas travel. I sold my home in Australia October 20th 2011 and have have been living in Thailand since then. I don’t know where the time has gone? It seems like you go to sleep one night, wake up the next morning, and 20 years have flashed by. Not sure how many years I have left, however I have enjoyed a wonderful charmed life, and if it all ended today I would leave this world with no regrets. I was born in Sydney halfway through the last century, started my travels in the 60s with the usual U.K. Europe adventure at the age of 20, back to Australia and worked in Sydney, Melbourne & Adelaide in Sales & Marketing with multinational companies including Sanyo, Canon & Remington. Engaged to be married 3 times and never quite made it to the alter, finally realized by the mid 90s I was not cut out for "long term relationships" so I moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland in January 1987, worked for a couple of banks as a Financial Planner, I took a year off work in 1998 to travel and never went back to full time work again, after 25 fun filled years on the Coast I packed up and moved to Thailand. What is the purpose of this blog? Well I really want to use it to record my travel experiences & to display my photographs, give and receive travel tips, comment on places I visit, restaurants I eat in and use it to replace the autobiography I intended to write, apart from all that it helps me fill in my day. :) I moved to Thailand mainly because I wanted to keep travelling while my health allowed me to, there are huge advantages being closer to all the places I want to visit. Cost of living in Thailand is around 35% of the cost in Australia, plus flights are 50% cheaper because you are much closer to everywhere. ???? Consequently I am able to travel to many more places compared to living in Australia. Having said all that, it is & has always been my intention to return to Australia when my travelling is finished, I predict this will happen around 2021.

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