The pilot's graves at Harrington

Harrington (including Crowdy Head National Park)
Quiet fishing village at the mouth of the Manning River
Harrington is located on the Manning River 350 km north of Sydney and 33 km northeast of Taree. It is a quiet and attractive little fishing and resort town at the mouth of the Manning River.

Surveyor John Oxley passed through the area in 1818 and named the mouth to the Manning River, Harrington Inlet. The name has remained.

A series of dangerous and dramatic sand bars lie just off the coast where the river meets the sea. During the nineteenth century a number of vessels attempting to enter the Manning River were wrecked on the bar. In recent times this problem has been partly solved by the construction of a long breakwater. However in the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century the boats entering the Manning River were brought across the bars by pilots familiar with the dangers and the shallow shoals.

The town's one historical monument is located on Pilots Lookout, a headland to the north east of the town. Here the graves of the pilots and some of the members of their families lie overlooking the bar and the ocean.

Today the local fishermen, joined by numerous enthusiastic visitors, fish the waters near Harrington and bring in good catches of snapper, bream, blackfish and whiting.

7 km beyond Harrington is the charming fishing village of Crowdy Head with its 1879 Lighthouse and its substantial fishing fleet. It is possible to buy fresh fish from the local cooperative.

In recent times this isolated community gained national media coverage when a school of False Killer Whales beached themselves nearby and had to be towed out to sea.

Things to see:  

Crowdy Bay National Park
Perhaps the biggest attraction in the Harrington area is the Crowdy Bay National Park, a park of 5639 hectares running along the coast which combines beaches, beautiful sand dunes, coastal forest, heathlands and swamp areas. The lagoons in the park are noted habitats for water birds and the beaches are quiet and peaceful.

Access to the Park is via Moorland on the Pacific Highway north of Coopernook and the main areas open to car access are Diamond Head, a spectacular outcrop 113 metres above sea level, which was originally named 'Indian Head' by Captain Cook when he sailed up the coast in 1770. He had sighted Aborigines, whom he called 'indians', on the craggy headland.

The Park itself is a combination of Crown Land and land which was previously privately owned. One of the most famous inhabitants of the area was a man named Ernie Metcalf who was subject of a story by Kylie Tennant titled The Man on the Headland. Metcalf built Tennant a house near Diamond Head which was restored by the National Parks in 1980. Now the Kylie's Rest Area Loop Walk is as popular as the spectacular Diamond Head Loop Track. Both walks offer spectacular views over the ocean and south towards Crowdy Head. Visitors wanting maps and more details should contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service at Port Macquarie on tel: (02) 6583 5518.

	Motels
	Breakwater Holiday Motel 89 Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1208 Rating: **
	Harrington Village Motel 255 Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1386 Rating: ***
	Palm Court Motel Minamurra Dve Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1405 Rating: *
	Hotels
	Harrington Hotel 28 Beach Rd Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1205
	Holiday Homes & Units
	Cabana Holiday Flats Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1208
	Sea Breeze Holiday Units 197 Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1234
	Caravan Parks
	Colonial Leisure Village 363 Harrington Rd Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 3312 Rating: ***
	Harrington Holiday Caravan Park Crowdy St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1228 Rating: ***
	Oxley Anchorage Caravan Park Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1250 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Blue Lagoon Chinese Restaurant 50 Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1155
	Gary's Ocean View Restaurant 21 Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1112
	Harrington Bowling Club Beach St Harrington NSW 2427 Telephone: (02) 6556 1209