Comboyne, New South Wales
Comboyne
Wambuyn (Birrpayi) | |||||||||||||
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Comboyne is located on the Comboyne Plateau, an area of rolling hills characterised by red basalt soils and high rainfall. | |||||||||||||
Comboyne | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 31°36.352′S 152°28.101′E / 31.605867°S 152.468350°E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| City | Camden Haven | ||||||||||||
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| Elevation | 588 m (1,929 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 416 (2021 census) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 2429 | ||||||||||||
| Annual rainfall | 1,818 mm (71.6 in) | ||||||||||||
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Comboyne (Birrpayi: Wambuyn or Wambutj, both lit. 'kangaroo') is a village on the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales. It is situated on the Comboyne Plateau, some 60 km south-west of Port Macquarie, 35 km west of Kew and 54 km north-west of Taree. It is an attractive agricultural area with fertile soils and a high rainfall. The word "Comboyne" is a corruption of the local Biripi people's name for "a place of kangaroos" (Gambuyn). At the 2021 census, Comboyne had a population of 416.
The Birpai (also known as Birrbay) people have lived in this area for more than 40,000 years.
Previously, the area was covered in sub-tropical rainforest which has almost all been cleared by the early 20th century. The early explorers originally sought the valuable timber of the Australian red cedar. The second oldest natural reserve in the state is at nearby Boorganna Nature Reserve which preserves a remnant of sub-tropical rainforest. The Antarctic beech has been recorded at four sites in the Comboyne area.