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 language, Birpai: ''Doongang''), an open and Breakwater (structure), trained intermediate wind wave, wave dominated estuary#Lagoon-type or bar-built, barrier estuary, is located in the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coas ...

. This village is about 50 kilometres west of

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...

, 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 in Australia, 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 (Australia), Pacific ...

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. While the Mid North Coast has throughout history been conservative, Oxley is seen as particularly conservative even by Mid North Coast sta ...

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

Division of Lyne The Division of Lyne is an Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. It is on the Tasman Sea coast, stretching from Hawks Nest, Ne ...

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 (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizard of the genus ''Monitor lizard, 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 r ...

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 monotypi ...

, wallabies, yabbies and

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

, turtles and

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum, ...

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

bowerbird Bowerbirds () make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate. The family ...

s, king parrots,

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

s, honeyeaters and

wedge-tailed eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') also known as the eaglehawk, 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. A ...

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.

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

Seafood Day: This event is always held on the first Saturday in December and has been held for over 25 years. It is a major fund raiser for the local Rugby League team, The Long Flat Dragons, and attracts people from Port Macquarie, Wauchope and surrounding areas. Campdraft: Held in September each year at the Long Flat Showground, this is one of the largest Campdrafts in NSW.

References