Purfleet is a small suburb of the Greater Taree region, located within the

Mid-Coast Council MidCoast Council is a local government area (LGA) located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a merger of the Gloucester Shire, Great Lakes and City of Greater Taree councils. ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is situated approximately north of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. At the 2016 census, the town reported a resident population of 127. The median age was 30.

Indigenous presence

Purfleet was previously the site of an

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...

, originally known as Sunshine Station, established by the

Aborigines Protection Board Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...

in 1900. A

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

school operated on the reserve from 1903 until 1952.

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

from the area were relocated to the mission, and were not allowed to leave to go to town without the permission of the manager. The Purfleet/Taree Local

Aboriginal Land Council Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australians ...

is located within the suburb, as is the Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre. Aunty Pat Davis-Hurst , a nationally recognised

Aboriginal elder Australian Aboriginal elders are highly respected people within Australia and their respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An Elder has been defined as "someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and l ...

, healthcare worker and activist was born on the mission.

References

Suburbs of Mid-Coast Council Suburbs of Taree {{MidCoastCouncil-geo-stub