Comboyne, New South Wales

Comboyne
Wambuyn (Birrpayi)
Camden HavenNew South Wales
Comboyne is located on the Comboyne Plateau, an area of rolling hills characterised by red basalt soils and high rainfall.
Comboyne is located in New South Wales
Comboyne
Comboyne
Coordinates31°36.352′S 152°28.101′E / 31.605867°S 152.468350°E / -31.605867; 152.468350
Population416 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode(s)2429
Elevation588 m (1,929 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Port Macquarie Hastings
State electorate(s)Oxley
Federal division(s)Lyne
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
 ? ? 1,818 mm
71.6 in
Localities around Comboyne:
Toms Creek Ellenborough Byabarra
Innes View Comboyne Swans Crossing
Boorganna Upper Lansdowne Kerewong

Comboyne (Birrpayi: Wambuyn or Wambutj, both lit.'kangaroo')[2] is a village on the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales. It is situated on the Comboyne Plateau, some 60 km south-west of Port Macquarie, 35 km west of Kew and 54 km north-west of Taree. It is an attractive agricultural area with fertile soils and a high rainfall. The word "Comboyne" is a corruption of the local Biripi people's name for "a place of kangaroos" (Gambuyn).[3] At the 2021 census, Comboyne had a population of 416.[1]

The Birpai (also known as Birrbay) people have lived in this area for more than 40,000 years.[4]

Previously, the area was covered in sub-tropical rainforest which has almost all been cleared by the early 20th century. The early explorers originally sought the valuable timber of the Australian Red Cedar. The second oldest natural reserve in the state is at nearby Boorganna Nature Reserve which preserves a remnant of sub-tropical rainforest. The Antarctic beech has been recorded at four sites in the Comboyne area.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Comboyne". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 March 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "FirstVoices".
  3. ^ National Parks and Wildlife Service pamphlet "Boorganna Nature Reserve", Department of Climate Change & Water, 2010
  4. ^ "Aboriginal Community Information". Port Macquarie-Hastings Council. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Lost & Found, Nothofagus moorei at Comboyne. authors C.L. Bale & J.B. Williams" (PDF). Cunninghamia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  6. ^ Floyd, A. G. (2008). Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia (2nd, Revised ed.). Lismore, New South Wales: Terania Rainforest Publishing. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-958943-67-3. Retrieved 27 February 2017.