The Road Home – The Manning Coast & Home – October 2023

First glimpse of the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse at Seal Rocks near Bungwahl, NSW.

Our destination that day, Tuesday, was Harrington at the mouth of the Manning River, near Taree, the town where I was born almost eighty-four years ago. We stopped for coffee at Raymond Terrace, then kept to the highway that now bypasses Bulahdelah, the town of my youth. We were headed for Seal Rocks, on the coast near the eastern end of the Myall Lakes.

The rocks on which the sighting of Seals generated the name of the area.

Seal Rocks has some significance to me as it was a place that my father always wanted to go to fish. But around thirty years ago it was the first landfall sighted on the second morning of our voyage when I sailed a yacht bought in Sydney up the coast to Brisbane. I climbed to the lighthouse on my recent visit to look down onto the rocks from which it gets its name. They are low and flat and not all that conspicuous from the water, hence the lighthouse that is still in operation. The rocks do however appear much more significant from the deck of a small yacht, particularly one that you own and must navigate safely past the rocks.

Surging waves at the base of the headland of Sugarloaf Point.
Lighthouse Beach at Seal Rocks, NSW.
Seal Rocks lighthouse is an active lighthouse but long since converted to automatic operation.

Like much of that coast, it is a very attractive with a surprising number of good quality houses and a caravan park. Its popularity is drawn from its kindness to the fishermen who visit it and the pleasant beaches that keep families happy and compensate for the attention of the fisherman (hunter gatherer?) being directed elsewhere.

An original lighthouse keeper residence and the local lifesaving club building at Sugarloaf Point.
Boat Beach, Seal Rock. The lighthouse is over the hill to the right.
Number One Beach at Seal Rocks, NSW.
A juvenile Osprey waiting for food at its National Parks provided nesting platform north of Tiona on The Lakes Way, NSW.

After Seal Rocks we returned to The Lakes Way and continued towards Forster, pausing at a Osprey nesting platform to photograph a juvenile bird that was perched, probably waiting to be fed. After a quick lunch for ourselves in Forster, we continued on our way to Harrington to occupy our cabin.

Crowdy Head Harbour at the mouth of the Manning River, NSW.

We had booked Harrington for two nights but were offered a third night at half rate, which we accepted. But when we checked in their booking system was down. “We will fix the problem tomorrow”, they said. But when tomorrow came and the system was back online, they discovered that the cabin had been booked by someone else for that night. They didn’t offer an alternative and we didn’t ask. Instead, we booked one night at a motel in Taree.

Great Eastern Egret at Cattai Wetlands, Coopernook, NSW.
A gliding Brahminy Kite at Cattai Wetlands.
Australian Darter and Little Pied Cormorant. They wouldn’t need to travel far for food.

On our first day in Harrington, we spent the morning catching up on washing followed by a sea food lunch at neighbouring Crowdy Head. A sea food meal as we watched the sea, with Whales frolicking in Crowdy Bay wa just the ticket. We weren’t complaining at all.

There were multiple hectares of waterlilies at Cattai Wetlands.
More waterlillies

After lunch we drove back past Harrington to the Pacific Highway at Coopernook so that I could take a walk around the 2.5-kilometre track at Cattai Wetlands. The position of the sun was a problem, morning would have been better, but I saw and photographed a few birds and viewed wide areas of water lilies. I am a bit of a fan of water lilies. The walk was most enjoyable but was terminated at increased speed when I realised, about three quarters of the way around, that I was running out of time. The area closed at 3.00 pm, just 20 minutes away.

The famous Gantry. So well known that an eating place in town is named after it, The Gantry.

Finally, before we returned to our cabin, I did a walk along the rock training wall at Harrington. This wall was a favourite fishing site for my father from the days of his youth and a site to which he took us on holidays a number of times. It was also a favourite with my late brother Ivan. Despite the pleasantness of the afternoon there was not a fishing person in sight. I walked about 75% of its length, pausing to read many of the memorial tributes to departed fishermen that have been fixed to the rocks along the wall.

The stone wall has a bridged gap, known as The Gantry. I recall it being one of Dad’s favourites fishing spots. The wall is built out to an island that is near to the river bank which together with the wall forms an anabranch of the river. The Gantry allows for the ebb and flow of the tides into the lagoon, formed by the wall.

The Eastern end of the Harrington training wall.
The main training wall at Harrington with the river to the left and the lagoon and anabranch of the river to the right.
Manning Point on the southern bank of the Manning, through afternoon salt haze.
Pilot Hill at Harrington. Ships were guided over the bar from this vantage point in the early days of settlement.
The Training Wall and Manning Point from Pilot Hill. You can see the size of the lagoon. Tidal waters flow to and from it through The Gantry.
Norfolk Pines in Harrington’s main street with the lagoon behind.
The main street of Wootton and The Wotton Way.

Thursday was exploring day. We turned south and turned into Wootton Way which, when we lived on it was called plain old Wootton Road. It was part of a string of roads that lead from near Newcastle to Taree. In their early married life my parents tried to eek a living out of a soldiers settlement block on Newmans Road, that joined Wootton Road at Wotton. The road is still mainly gravel with some patches of sealed road where the road crosses streams. I lived there as a baby and again about 75 years ago, so was not surprised that much did not look familiar. I suspect that the old house is long gone. I think I identified the location, but it was hard to be sure.

Myall Lake at Mayres Point on The Lakes Way.

From Wootton we accessed The Lakes Way via Wattley Hill Road, a road that has been there since first settlement in the area, but one over which I had never travelled. We drove in to Myall Lake to check out the sight of Sunday School picnics of three quarters of a century ago. It is now all overgrown.

The Boat House at Smiths Lake, south of Forster, NSW. The building contains a cafe and boating facilities.
The sand bar that separates Smith Lake from the Pacific Ocean. The town of Sandbar is to the left, right on the coast.
Blueys Beach is just off The Lakes Way near Pacific Palms. It was favourite beach for locals in my youth and had only beach shacks.

We called in to several beaches that we frequented in younger days including Smith Lake, Pacific Palms, Blueys beach and Elizabeth Beach. We again stopped at Forster for lunch.

On our way from Forster to Taree we diverged so that we could look at Harrington across the river. The diversion lead us over some of the islands that make up the Manning River Estuary. Harrington is clearly visible from there. Manning Point has some tourist facilities but is much smaller than Harrington.

Jetty near the shopping centre at Forster, NSW.
The old Forster fishing cooperative now sells fishing supplies, has a cafe which of course sells coffee.
Pelicans roosting on the boat shed roof at Forster, NSW.
The shark proof swimming enclosure at Manning Point.
Harrington through the Pine trees at Manning Point.
The mouth of the Nambucca River at Nambucca Heads, NSW.

We spent our night in Taree, setting out next day, our last day but one, on the four hundred plus kilometres to Ballina. We made two diversions. The first into Nambucca Heads trying to find a coffee shop. We ended up at the service centre back on the highway. The town was parked out, but we did get to a couple of lookouts and one beach. Nambucca Heads is worth a longer visit.

Shelly Beach at Nambucca Heads, NSW.
The coast south of Nambucca to Scotts Head and Smokey Cape (South West Rocks) in the far distance.
The Anglican Cathedral at Grafton, NSW.

Finally, we drove through Grafton to find lunch and photograph Jacarandas. There seems to be less of the distinctive purple trees than I remember from previous visits. Lunch done, we departed the town over the new bridge over the Clarence River and re-joined the highway at Tyndale, to continue the drive to Ballina.

Jacaranda trees at Grafton NSW
Jacaranda trees at Grafton NSW
Jacaranda trees at Grafton NSW

After another brief and pleasant visit with Joe and Thelma we proceeded home, arriving mid afternoon. So ends another drive along that most familiar coast.

Sydney 2014 – Day 25 – 10th February – Around Harrington

The main Harrington training wall

The main Harrington training wall

Harrington was a special place to our family. Dad was born and raised in the Lansdowne area, just west of the mouth of the Manning, and had fished the training walls along the river since his youth. Holidays there were always about fishing and I have fond memories of helping to eat Dad’s catch.

There are two hills that are part of

Harrington town and lagoon

Harrington town and lagoon

the town. They rise from the flat river plain like a giant had emptied two huge buckets of dirt by the river. One has a water tower and houses. The other has a lookout and houses. I believe the hill with the lookout is Flagstaff Hill.

A pilot station was built on this hill in 1856 but was closed in 1861 after the death of one William

Manning River mouth and Manning Point

Manning River mouth and Manning Point

Whitmore. One of Dad’s sisters was named Whitmore, so I am wondering if there is a family connection.

The views over the Manning Estuary are excellent, particularly of the paved training wall from which Dad did most of his fishing. Late in the day Ruth and I walked along the wall, following the

Harrington in the evening light

Harrington in the evening light

setting sun and walked back as the daylight faded. We noted several plaques attached to some of the rocks on top of the wall, obviously in memory of departed fisher folk to who this wall must have been a special place.

 

 

Manning River Sunset

Manning River Sunset

The main jetty at Crowdy Harbour

The main jetty at Crowdy Harbour

We then drove the 8 km to Crowdy Head, the sight if a lighthouse and a harbour which is mainly used by professional fishermen but also provides access to the open sea for hobby anglers.

A story attaches to this place as well. I mentioned a couple of posts back ferrying a yacht from Sydney to Brisbane. Having sailed through the night passing Port Stephens,

Fishing jetty at Crowdy Head

Fishing jetty at Crowdy Head

we were rather tired by the end of the next day, so decided to spend the night in a port. We were trying for the Camden Haven River but when it became clear that darkness would beat us we settled on Crowdy Head as an alternative.

One of my crew, the previous owner, was a New South Welshman and the other a Queenslander and that night was

Crowdy Head Lighthouse

Crowdy Head Lighthouse

a State of Origin league football match between Queensland and NSW. My intention was to buy them a pub meal where they would be able to watch the match. But Crowdy Head doesn’t have a pub or any other eating establishment. I had to settle for buying fresh fish fillets at the cooperative and serve them a meal of yacht cooked fish and chips while we listened to the match on the radio.

Crowdy Head still does not have much of a commercial centre but there is a cafe at the surf club but that would have been too far to walk. The headland is crowned by the heritage lighthouse and its slopes adorned with very expensive houses. They are probably owned by successful folk from Taree.

Diamond Head

Diamond Head

We then drove north through the Crowdy Bay National park to Diamond Head and then on to the triplet towns of Laurieton, Dunbogan and North Haven on the Camden Haven River. We found a pleasant place for lunch overlooking the river.

To the south of Laurieton lie the Brother Mountains. There are

Training walls at the mouth of the Camden Haven River

Training walls at the mouth of the Camden Haven River

three of them, North Brother, South Brother and Middle Brother. They are prominent mountains and can be seen from a great distance. I recall using North Brother for a compass bearing during the yacht passage. Prominent mountains usually provide great platforms for lookouts and such is certainly the case with North Brother.

Lunch completed we drove the

The Camden Haven Estuary from North Brother Lookout

The Camden Haven Estuary from North Brother Lookout

steep 5 km ascent to the North Brother summit. We had been there before, but the view is one that can be enjoyed time and again. The view of the mouth of the Camden Haven River and the three towns is spectacular as the accompanying photo attests. Looking south the Watson Taylor Lake, skirted on the west by the Pacific Highway, is no less impressive, particularly the long

The river flows through a long neck of land into the Watson Taylor Lake near Laurieton.

The river flows through a long neck of land into the Watson Taylor Lake near Laurieton.

neck of land through the river runs before it discharges into the lake.

Middle Brother is clearly visible from its northern brother. We decided to drive to its summit where a tall communications tower is located. But I made a navigational error and ended up on a dead end road. As the day was quickly getting away we decided to leave Middle Brother as unfinished business to be addressed at another time. As we followed the Pacific Highway south to return to Harrington we passed a road boldly sign posted “Middle Brother Road”, so now we know where to start out drive next time.

 

Sydney 2014 – Day 24 – 9th February – Myall Lakes to Harrington

Early ripples on a calm lake

Early ripples on a calm lake

Bulahdelah Court House is now a museum

Bulahdelah Court House is now a museum

We awoke to reflected sunshine from the surface of the lake peeping in at our windows. There was no wind and the surface of the lake was like a sheet of glass. We watched it develop its first ripples as we sat over an early cup of coffee.

The route today took us through the town of Bulahdelah which is the nearest thing that we have to a home town when I lived in this area. I went to high school here and we visited the town to shop and to church twice on most Sundays. Mum was the church organist.

Bulahdelah has recently been bypassed by the Pacific Highway after a protracted environmental battle delayed it for several years. Knowing the effect that such a change can have on a country town I was half expecting a town sliding towards ghost town status. But not so!

The river down stream from the bridge

The river down stream from the bridge

In the Lions Park

On Sunday morning, those shops of interest to tourists, were open and seemed to be trading well. There were people in the streets and cars in the driveways of the two service stations that stand on either side of what was the highway.

Something called the Bass Bash Challenge was in progress. The park was almost overflowing with camps, boats and people. Perhaps it was an unusual day, but it was heartening to see.We took our morning tea break at a park with all required facilities for tourists. Other vans and the crowd from the classic cars were occupying all of the picnic tables so we had our coffee at the van. We were about finished when a local, female and pushy, came around the rear of the van to tell me that I was parked too close to the corner.

Lions Park from the town

Lions Park from the town

She had a point but not by much more than half a meter or so. My response apparently didn’t satisfy her as she accused me of taking her to be a fool. It would not have been a very great leap of intuition to reach that conclusion. She had double parked beside the van in her haste to point out to me the error of my ways in what was really a very dangerous place. Of such events are memorable trips made!

 

The Plough Inn. It must be near to 100 years old.

The Plough Inn. It must be near to 100 years old.

 

There were no coffee shops on my time there

There were no coffee shops on my time there

 

Bulahdelah main street

Bulahdelah main street

 

I remember this building as Wades Grocery Store

I remember this building as Wades Grocery Store

 

The School of Arts was the scene of many remembered activities.

The School of Arts was the scene of many remembered activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cars in the visiting classic car club

Cars in the visiting classic car club

 

 

 

 

 

 

The commercial centre of Bungwahl

The commercial centre of Bungwahl

We left the Pacific Highway just north of Bulahdelah to follow The Lakes Way. This road took us through “nostalgia central”. Many of my childhood holidays took place at seaside locations along this road, not to mention the odd Sunday school picnic, and the long gone Boolambayte School, to which I walked across country to commence my education at the age of around six.

Smiths Lake
Smiths Lake

 

We called at a couple of places that prompted memories before we reached Forster on Wallace Lake and its twin town, Tuncurry. We lunched in the shade of a large pine tree by the water at the latter town before bypassing Taree and soon after, left the highway for Harrington, another old Sheather holiday and fishing location.

We have decided to remain here for two days so will tell you something of it in tomorrow’s blog.

Looking across Forster Beach

Looking across Forster Beach

The Forster Tuncurry Bridge. A ferry powered by a motor launch that could navigate the sand islands used to carry vehicles over the lake.

The Forster Tuncurry Bridge. A ferry powered by a motor launch that could navigate the sand islands used to carry vehicles over the lake.

The entrance to Wallace Lake

The entrance to Wallace Lake