NSWPort & river
Coffs Harbour
Logs once had to be floated out through the surf.
1880sTimber settlement expands
WHAT STARTED IT
Timber cutting brought settlers and trade to the harbour. Before a jetty made loading easier, logs were taken to the beach and hauled or floated out to waiting ships, making the shore a working link between forest and market.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
A jetty and later breakwaters improved the port. Rail and road connections broadened the town’s opportunities as it grew beyond the timber trade.
TURNING POINTS
1880sTimber cutting and coastal shipping expand.
1890Jetty construction begins.
1912Work starts on the harbour breakwater scheme.
2021The nineteenth-century timber jetty was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A coastal regional centre with tourism, shops and a university campus. Its jetty district recalls the working harbour behind the modern seaside image.