Long Flat is a rural village situated on the

Oxley Highway Oxley Highway is a rural highway in New South Wales, Australia, linking Nevertire, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Tamworth, and Walcha to Port Macquarie, on the coast of the Tasman Sea. It was named to commemorate John Oxley, the first European t ...

and the southern bank of the

Hastings River Hastings River (Birpai: ''Doongang''), an open and trained intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary, is located in the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Hastings River rise ...

. This village is about 50 kilometres west of

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...

, 30 kilometres west of Wauchope and 133 km east of Walcha. The boundaries are within the

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council Port Macquarie-Hastings Council is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hastings River, the Pacific Highway, the Oxley Highway and the North Coast railway ...

Local Government Area and Macquarie County.

Village

The Long Flat village has a class four primary school, hotel, community hall, recreation ground, tennis court and general store. Long Flat Public School has 36 students enrolled for classes Kindergarten to Year 6 in 2013. The 2011 census did not record Long Flat's population, however it shows that the population of the district including the localities of Kindee, Toms Creek, Ellenborough and Birdwood was 294. The

Electoral district of Oxley Oxley is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. History Oxley was created in 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, replacing Gloucester and Raleigh, and elected thr ...

records show that 296 people voted there in 2007. Long Flat voting in the

Division of Lyne The Division of Lyne is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed ...

recorded 286 voters who placed their votes in the village in 2007.

Flora and fauna

Native animals that may be seen in the region include

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizards of the genus '' Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges ...

s, kangaroos,

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or mono ...

, wallabies, yabbies and crayfish, turtles and

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...

. There are fish in the river. The area has a diverse range of birds including bowerbirds, king parrots,

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s, honeyeaters and

wedge-tailed eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

s. Big Nellie Hakea ('' Hakea archaeoides'') and Tree Guinea Flower (''

Hibbertia ''Hibbertia'', commonly known as guinea flowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae. They are usually shrubs with simple leaves and usually yellow flowers with five sepals and five petals. There are about 400 species, mo ...

hexandra'') are threatened flora species that grow in the region. Lewis Ellenborough the koala is from Long Flat.

Industry

This is mostly an agricultural region with dairy farming and beef cattle breeding the main industries.

Grant

In February 2009 it was announced that the Long Flat Tennis Club would receive a government grant of A$25,000 for resurfacing and refurbishments to the courts which were in a poor state. The upgrade work was subsequently done and the club now has a thriving competition held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the summer months.Long Flat Tennis Club will receive a government grant
Retrieved on 11-3-2009

Events

The Long Flat Pub Run: This annual event for motorcyclists has been held for over 30 years and is popular with motorcyclists from all over NSW and Qld. It is held each year on the last weekend of November. Longflat pub is now the home of the Dale Freeman Memorial rally, another big motorcycle and music event that raises money and awareness of suicide prevention. This event is building every year and becoming a fantastic event for everybody. Sea Food Day: This event is always held on the first Saturday in December and has been held for 25 years. It is a major fund raiser for the local Rugby League team and attracts people from Port Macquarie, Wauchope and surrounding areas. Campdraft: Held in August each year at the Long Flat Showground this is one of the largest Campdrafts in NSW.

References