Great Mackerel Beach Sydney, New South Wales |
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Great Mackerel Beach, photographed from the south
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Population | 36 (2016 census) | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 2108 | ||||||||||||||
Location | 43 km (27 mi) north of Sydney CBD | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Northern Beaches Council | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Pittwater | ||||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Mackellar | ||||||||||||||
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Great Mackerel Beach is a suburb about 43 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, from 2016 in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, formerly part of Pittwater Council. It is on the western shores of Pittwater in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, beside Currawong Beach, and near Coasters Retreat and Palm Beach. The population was 36 at the 2016 census; the median age was 66, with an average of 0.3 children per family and an average of 2 people per household. The population was 301 at the 2011 census, and 103 in 2006.
Great Mackerel Beach is frequently referred to as Mackerel Beach or [Great] Mackeral Beach, although the spelling "Mackerel" is becoming standard.
Nearby Currawong Beach is sometimes called Little Mackerel Beach.
The Mackerel valley was formed by a creek that flows from within the National Park, passing through sub-tropical rain forest and mangroves to exit at the north end of the beach where a sand delta has been formed. The sand on the beach is the result of sandstone flowing down the Hawkesbury River Hawkesbury River and is soft and golden.
Mackerel was originally a dairy farm settled in 1823 by a John Clark who sold it on to Martin Burke who is known as "The Father of Pittwater". Subdivision of Mackerel took place in 1920 and since then over 100 houses have been built. Originally most of the houses were fibro shacks built as fishermen’s cottages and weekenders however much development has occurred since and now Mackerel has a large variety of homes ranging from some of the original shacks to waterfront mansions.
At the 2016 census there were 105 dwellings. At the 2011 census there were 340 dwellings, of which none were apartments, with an average of 2.2 people per occupied dwelling.. There are no shops.