Forster, New South Wales

Forster is a coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Coast Council LGA, about 308 km north-north-east of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to its twin, Tuncurry, which is the smaller of the two towns. Forster is known for its stunning waters and Manning Valley beauty.

History
Forster is named after William Forster, who also was the 4th Premier of New South Wales and who later served as Agent-General in London. The first post office in Forster opened on 1 October 1872, with John Wyllie Breckenridge as postmaster at a salary of £10 a year.

The area was well known in the early days for its timber cutting and sawmills. Timber was collected from the lakes and rivers by the logpunts (droghers).

A bridge over the Coolongolook River that marks the entrance to Wallis Lake was built in 1959 linking Forster and Tuncurry and replacing the punt service that had operated since 1890.

Demographics
According to the 2021 census of Population, there were 14,187 people in Forster.
 * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.3% of the population.
 * 81.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England (with 3.2%) and New Zealand (with 1.2%).
 * 90.1% of people spoke only English at home.
 * The most common responses for religion were No Religion (with 34.7%), Anglican (with 22.7%) and Catholic (with 20.2%).

Tourism
Because of its close proximity to Sydney, just under 4 hours drive, Forster–Tuncurry has established itself as a popular summer holiday destination; in the hotter months the population increases considerably. Due to this most of its shops and restaurants work on seasonal income, with some opening in the summer months exclusively.

The school holidays in the colder months also bring a considerable number of holidaymakers. Forster-Tuncurry is predominantly a family holiday location with large lakes and white sandy beaches. Notable nearby attractions the Bicentennial Trail, Cape Hawke, and Booti Booti National Park.

The most popular beaches are Forster Main Beach, Burgess Beach, and One Mile Beach, serviced by Forster and Cape Hawke Surf Lifesaving Clubs respectively. One Mile Beach, Pebbly Beach and Tuncurry Beach are popular with local surfers. Forster's ocean pool and the Tuncurry rock pool are very popular destinations for those with families.

Climate
Forster experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cfal/Cfbl); with warm summers and mild winters; and with a moderately high precipitation amount of 1,176.4 millimetres (47.99 in). The highest temperature recorded at Forster was 43.0 °C (109.4 °F) on 1 December 2004; the lowest recorded was 1.0 °C (33.8 °F) on 29 May 2019. On average, it has 124.5 clear days annually.

Clubs
Forster has a range of sporting clubs in the area.
 * Forster Bodyboarding Club
 * Cape Hawke Surf Club
 * Pacific Palms Surf Life Saving Club
 * Black Head Surf Life Saving Club
 * Forster-Tuncurry Hawks Rugby League Club
 * Great Lakes United Football Club

Notable people

 * Bruce Cowan – Australian politician
 * Courtney Houssos – New South Wales politician
 * Jamal Idris – former rugby league player
 * Ben Jeffries – former rugby league player
 * Adam Pearce – football player
 * Scott Hill – rugby league player
 * Luke Ricketson – former rugby league player was born in Forster before moving to Sydney as a young child
 * Jack River – musician