Nabiac ( ) is a small town on the

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region, situated 416km north of Sydney, covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens at Hawks Nest to as far ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia in

Mid-Coast Council MidCoast Council is a local government area 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. The ...

. It is north-west of Forster, and south of

Taree Taree () is a city on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. It and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then it has grown to a population of 26,381, and commands a significant agricultural district. Situ ...

. At the , the population of Nabiac was 1,294. Nabiac is the central town of the Wallamba Valley. As is typical of small North Coast towns, it developed in the second half of the 19th century as a small river port (later called Bullocks Wharf on the eastern edge of the town) for the hardwood-cutting (mainly

Australian red cedar ''Toona ciliata'' is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout South Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Names It is commonly known as the red cedar (a name shared by other trees), tone, toon or toona (als ...

) trade. Later as the valley was cleared, small-scale dairying and corn-growing became dominant but its importance has since declined. At first, milk was mainly bought by the dairy at Dyers Crossing (about 6 km west of Nabiac). Later fresh milk was also supplied to the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

market via the Sydney Milk Board. The first post office in the area was established in May 1870 on the south side of the Wallamba and was initially called "Cape Hawke Post Office" after Cape Hawke, which is 30 km away. It was renamed "Clarkson's Crossing" in February 1880 and Nabiac on 1 June 1894. The Pacific Highway was relocated through Nabiac in the mid-1950s. This included the opening of a bridge over the Wallamba to replace Clarkson's Crossing on 15 November 1958. Since then Nabiac has steadily become more of a highway service town and tourist stopping point. Nabiac school

The poet Les Murray was born in Nabiac, although his family lived in nearby Bunyah. He travelled to school in Nabiac for his primary and early high school education.

References

External links

Nabiac Community site
{{authority control Suburbs of Mid-Coast Council