New England Online > Geography > Administrative Divisions > Municipalities > Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour
| City of Coffs Harbour | |
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| Motto: Progress and Prosper | |
| Geography | |
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| Status: | City |
| Proclaimed: | 1987 |
| County: | Fitzroyshire |
| Demographics | |
| Population : - Total |
Ranked 5th 141,026 |
| Ethnicity: | 98% European 1% Asian 1% Indigenous |
The City of Coffs Harbour is the fifth largest city and is the major centre of the north-east of New England. The city is the county town of Fitzroyshire. Situated on the coast, Coffs Harbour is today a major tourist centre with many beachside resorts located in and around the city. Coffs Harbour is located approximately 175 kilometres north-east of the capital, Armidale.
Timber getters were the first to settle Coffs in 1841. In it's early years the busy port was frequented by up to 450 ships a year. The town was originally named 'Korff's Harbour' by John Korff in 1847. It was renamed Coffs Harbour when the town site was reserved in 1861.
Timber cutting remained the most important industry well into the 1900's, flourishing after the completion of the Jetty in 1892. Gold mining, fruit growing, dairying, and sugar cane farming also became popular, although many of these earlier ventures failed. Bananas were introduced in 1881 and the banana growing industry took off in the early 1900's and remain the second largest earner for the city after tourism.
Area
Coffs Harbour was established a city in 1987. In 2035, the northern third of the city was separated to become the City of Woolgoolga. Today, the city is divided into six Boroughs, which are paired to create the local electoral ridings for Fitzroyshire. These Boroughs are: Coffs Central, Coramba, Emerald Beach, Sawtell, The Jetty and Ulong.
The area of the city is bound by
Geography & Climate
Like most of the coastal regions of New England, Coffs Harbour's climate is subtropical with warm to very warm wet summers and cool to mild dry winters. Temperatures are moderated by the influence of the sea. Summers are generally cooled by a sea breeze, and winters are not as cold as in the inland regions.
The city is located right on the edge of the coastal range, with a very narrow strip of flat land between the hills and the sea. As a result, Coffs Harbour has developed in a north-south direction, with little urbanisation further inland until the Orara Valley. The hills around the city today remain the domain of the Banana plantations, giving the city a green and colourful backdrop.
Culture
After Armidale and Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour has a significant cultural life. New England's small film industry made it's home in Coffs Harbour, and a number of local TV shows are made in the city. The city is also home to the Coffs Harbour Sports and Leisure Fair, which is the largest of it's type in the country.
In most sporting arenas, Coffs Harbour uses the colours of Fitzroyshire of red and blue. A number of sporting teams are also based out of Coffs Harbour.
| Twenty Largest Urban Centres of New England |
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| Armidale · Bingara · Coffs Harbour · Dangarsleigh · Dumaresq · Glen Innes · Grafton · Guyra · Inverell · Kempsey Laurieton · Macksville · Port Macquarie · Puddledock · Tenterfield · Thalgarrah · Uralla · Walcha · Wauchope · Woolgoolga |
