Tahlee is a suburb of the Mid-Coast Council local government area in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, located on the northern shores of Port Stephens. The suburb is sparsely populated with the only significant population centre being the property of Tahlee, from which the suburb got its name. The remainder of the suburb is primarily undeveloped bushland.

The earliest inhabitants of this area were the Worimi people tribe. Tahlee comes from the local Aboriginal word, Tarlee, meaning "sheltered from the wind and above water". Early relationships between the original inhabitants and white settlers were relatively harmonious. In fact, the Australian Agricultural Company (AA Co) would not have succeeded without their help. Tahlee's history since the AA Co's first settlers arrived in 1826 has been inextricably linked to the property of Tahlee, which is located at the southeastern corner of the suburb, adjacent to Port Stephens.

The Australian Agricultural Company was founded in 1824, through an Act of the British Parliament, with the right to select 1,000,000 acres (4,047 km²) of land in the colony of New South Wales, for agricultural development. After initial criticism's of the company's Sydney committee over their lack of enthusiasm in finding a suitable location to use as the company's base the Port Stephens area was decided on after Robert Dawson, the company's first commissioner, arrived in Sydney on 23 December 1825 with stock, plant and equipment for the new settlement. Port Stephens had been recommended by John Oxley, the Surveyor General of New South Wales, after the AA Co's committee had insisted on a base near the coast, where shipping facilities were available. On 1 January 1826 Dawson set out to explore Port Stephens, eventually deciding on the present site of Tahlee and Carrington as a suitable place for his headquarters.

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