Limeburners Creek National Park, Protected coastal national park in New South Wales, Australia.
Limeburners Creek National Park is a coastal reserve in New South Wales featuring sandy beaches, heathlands, eucalyptus forests, and rainforest sections near Port Macquarie. The landscape contains several distinct ecological zones that support different plant and animal communities.
Lime was produced here by burning oyster shells gathered in the area, and the product was used as mortar for buildings in the Port Macquarie settlement, giving the park its name. In 1881 the land was declared part of the Orara Gold Field, and gold mining took place for a short period. Sand mining for zircon and rutile occurred just south of Point Plomer in the 1960s. The area became a nature reserve of about 6,879 hectares in 1971 and was expanded to 9,123 hectares when it was formally recognised as a national park in 2010.
The park lies on the land of the Birpai and Dunghutti peoples, whose occupation is evidenced by a stone quarry, grooves in sandstone used to grind and sharpen tools, shell middens and burial sites dated 5000–6000 years ago. Since 2006 NPWS NSW has worked with local elders and Land Councils to plan a Cultural Camp for cultural and educational programs and approved camping.
The park lies 5 km north of Port Macquarie, straddling the Kempsey Shire and Port Macquarie-Hastings council areas. Its soils are mostly sands, silts and clays, and the sandy coastal ground erodes rapidly once vegetation is removed, so visitors must stay on the provided roads and trails. NPWS NSW manages the park and works to keep 4WD use off sensitive tracks.
The park's name comes from the lime industry: oyster shells gathered across the area were burned to make mortar for buildings in the Port Macquarie settlement. In 1881 the same land was declared part of the Orara Gold Field, and gold mining took place there for a short period.
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