Hawks Nest

History

The first Europeans to work in the area were timber getters who took an interest in the cedar forests along the Myall River early in the 19th century. Hawks Nest emerged as a service centre for the local fishing and timber industries in the 1950s. Today it remains a popular holiday destination.

Geography

Hawks Nest is a long (), thin (typically ), coastal town running northeast to southwest and is about north of Sydney, ) from the Pacific Highway. It is bordered by the Tasman Sea to the east, the Myall River to the west and Port Stephens to the south. It includes Yacaaba, the northern headland of Port Stephens, which rises to above mean sea level. However, the rest of the town is generally low, flat, sandy and covered in coastal scrubland, with some bushland, resulting in the northern part of the suburb being accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles until the 1980s. Hawks Nest is located directly across the river from Tea Gardens and was connected by the Singing Bridge in 1974. Before this the river crossing was made by a small car ferry. Most (approximately 95%) of the suburb is still uninhabited with the population concentrated around the Hawks Nest township, on the Myall River and Winda Woppa on Port Stephens.

Most-observed species

• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  2,565
• koala

  Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) · Mammalia
  2,255
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  1,816
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,661
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  1,651
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  1,517
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  1,495
• Chinese violet, Coromandel, Creeping foxglove, Ganges primrose, Asystasia

  Asystasia gangetica (L.) T.Anderson · Magnoliopsida
  1,442

Most recent

• M 3.2 — 2012-09-10
  33 km ESE of Blue Bay, Australia
• M 3.3 — 2010-03-11
  8 km NE of Hawks Nest, Australia
• M 2.8 — 2004-05-15
  23 km ENE of Dungog, Australia