North Arm Cove is a suburb of the Great Lakes Council Local Government Area in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, located adjacent to Port Stephens

Port Stephens

Port Stephens is a large natural harbour located about north-east of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It lies wholly within the Port Stephens Local Government Area although its northern shoreline forms the boundary between the Port Stephens and Great Lakes LGAs...

 and extending well north of the Pacific Highway

Pacific Highway (Australia)

The Pacific Highway is a major transport route along part of the east coast of Australia and is part of Australia's national route 1.It is 960 km long and links Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, along the coast, via Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port...

.. The suburb is sparsely populated with most of the population living in the southern portion of the suburb.

It was under consideration as a possible site for the national capital before Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

 was chosen and has many dirt roads laid out in the bushland that date from the original subdivision

Subdivision (land)

Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...

 in 1918.

1918 subdivision

Land from the 1918 subdivision is zoned "non-urban", meaning that construction of buildings is not permitted under any circumstances. Because of this, land sales at North Arm Cove have been the subject of controversy for many years, even being raised as a matter in the NSW Parliament

Parliament of New South Wales

The Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...

. Despite this, many blocks are purchased as investment properties and/or for use as weekend retreats. However, land is regularly sold and resold as owners become frustrated with being unable to develop their properties.

Land use today

Restrictions on land use in the area has meant that a limited number of residential blocks are available and the suburb's population is concentrated mainly in the village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 of North Arm Cove, which is located on the western shore of North Arm cove itself, and the northern shore of Port Stephens. Many of the small houses that used to be in the area have been torn down and replaced with more expensive, modern homes.

To the north of the Pacific Highway, land use is mainly rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 and throughout the suburb kangaroo

Kangaroo

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...

s, wallabies

Wallaby

A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...

 and koala

Koala

The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....

s are commonly found. A Club Med

Club Med

Club Méditerranée , commonly known as Club Med, is a French corporation of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in exotic locations. It is considered the original all-inclusive resort.-Foundation:...

resort was to be built however local objection has halted the plan.