Macleay River

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The Macleay River is a major river in the North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. The headwaters of the Macleay River rise on the eastern side of the New England plateau region near Armidale, New South Wales. There are a number of spectacular gorges and waterfalls. The river flows past the town of Kempsey and enters the Pacific Ocean at South West Rocks.

[edit] Mouth

When Europeans arrived in the area around the 1820s the river mouth was just south of Grassy Head, and almost a mile wide with a sand spit in the middle. The small town of Stuarts Point was established on the river just inside to serve arriving ships.^[1]

The area from what is now South West Rocks around to Grassy Head is a wide delta with various channels connected to the river. Around 1885 English marine engineer John Coode advised on improvements to various rivers and ports in Australia, including the Macleay. The Department of Public Works prepared four plans for improvements to the mouth, Coode favoured improving the existing entrance. In 1893 a flood enlarged an opening near South West Rocks and the department elected to improve that, called the New Entrance, though Coode had thought it not enough to drain all the waters of the district.

Work on the new entrance commenced in April 1896, improving the channel and adding training walls. A new pilot station was built in 1902, establishing the town of South West Rocks. Work was completed in 1906. Today the old mouth has silted up, leaving Stuarts Point on a dead-end reach.