Tuncurry is a coastal town in the Mid North Coast

Mid North Coast, New South Wales

The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region covers the mid to north coast of NSW, beginning at Seal Rocks, 275 km north of Sydney, and extending as far north as Woolgoolga, 562 km north of Sydney, a distance of roughly...

 region 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...

, in the Great Lakes Council LGA, about 308 km (191 mi) north north east of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. It is immediately adjacent to its twin town of Forster

Forster, New South Wales

Forster is a large coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Great Lakes Council LGA, about north-north-east of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to its twin, Tuncurry, which is the smaller of the two towns...

, which is the larger of the two towns.

At the 2006 census, The Forster-Tuncurry area had a population of 18,372 people. This number grows considerably in the tourist season. The population of Tuncurry alone is 5,717.

History

The first land grant in this area was in 1875. The settlement was originally called North Shore and then North Forster and was renamed Tuncurry meaning "plenty of fish" in 1891 and then proclaimed a village in 1893.

The area was well known in the early days for its timber cutting and sawmills. Timber was collected from the lakes and rivers by the logpunts (droghers).

A bridge was built linking Forster and Tuncurry in 1959 replacing the punt service that had operated since 1890.

Tourism

Because of its close driving proximity to Sydney, Forster-Tuncurry has established itself as a popular summer holiday destination, where in the hotter months, the population swells considerably. The school holidays in the colder months also bring large numbers of holidaymakers.

Tuncurry's Nine Mile Beach is a popular swimming, surfing and fishing spot. Tuncurry Rockpool is a shark netted swimming enclosure, formed by breakwalls which mark the entrance to Wallis Lake. Tuncurry's lakefront areas are characterised by wharves and jetties which provide anchorage for fishing boats and pleasure craft.

The region's local cinema, Great Lakes Cinema 3, is based on the Tuncurry side of the bridge.