maclean tourist information

This is My Clarence Valley

Clarence cruising, jacaranda season, jacaranda season, canoe and kayak trail, yuraygir coastal walk, let's go camping, where are we.

The Clarence Valley is located in what’s known as the Northern Rivers area of NSW. It’s a three-hour drive from Brisbane and a solid days’ drive north from Sydney. Basically, we’re below Byron’s Big Lighthouse, Ballina’s Big Prawn and above Coffs Harbour’s Big Banana - Our big thing is the river!

Giinagay, Jingi Walla, G’Day!

Welcome to the My Clarence Valley, our official visitor information website, where we invite you to embark on a memorable family adventure in our breathtaking region. As you explore the vibrant streets of Grafton, Yamba, Maclean, Ulmarra, Iluka , and Wooli , get ready to immerse yourself in the art of leisurely strolls and unhurried moments. In the Clarence Valley, we cherish the beauty of connection, and our warm-hearted locals eagerly await the opportunity to share their stories with you.

Our region is home to a diverse and rich tapestry of history and culture, encompassing the traditions of Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr, and Yaegl traditional owners, as well as the enduring legacies of families who have lived and worked on this land for generations. The mighty Clarence River, gracefully winding its way through our landscape, serves as a powerful metaphor for the unbreakable bonds that tie our community together.

Whether you choose to make the Clarence Valley a cherished chapter in your family’s story or let it become the enchanting backdrop for an entire book of treasured memories, we extend a heartfelt welcome to you. It is our utmost delight to have you here, and we are eager to help you create a remarkable experience filled with joy, discovery, and the wonders of our remarkable region.

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The tartan connection is hard to miss in Maclean (“The Scottish Town in Australia”) with many street signs carrying a Gaelic translation and promotion of its heritage through the annual Easter Highland gathering. Australia’s oldest Free Presbyterian Church still carries on the services to the descendents of the early settlers, and there is a large Scottish cairn constructed from rocks from around Australia and Scotland in the Herb Stanford Memorial Park, overlooking the river in Taloumbi Street.

But the more tropical crop of sugar cane is another important part of Maclean’s heritage and economy, being the southern gateway to the industry which grows as far north as Cairns. The broad Clarence river also maintains the prawn trawling fleet which works from the river mouth to the Ulmarra ferry, with fish netted over the 90km tidal length of the river. Amateur anglers also enjoy the many river stretches to chose from ,a nd boats can be launched near the Police Station and at the Harwood Bridge. Houseboats are a great way to enjoy the river and take in the scenery, and there is also a wide range of other types of accommodation, from caravan parks to motels, hotels and upmarket bed and breakfast establishments in this historic riverside town. Being close to national parks, beaches and Grafton, Maclean is a good holiday base.

The tourist information centre at the southern turn-off to Maclean showcases the entire area and includes a restaurant and a gallery of arts and crafts.

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• Population – 3157
• Transport Services – Bus
• Council – Maclean Shire Council

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Posted in Destinations | New South Wales schedule Duration : 5 Minute Read

Three minutes off the Pacific Highway is the river town of Maclean, with a relaxed lifestyle that offers everything you've dreamed of. Explore all the historic architecture of the town, take the heritage walking trail, visit the museum and don't miss the breathtaking views from the Maclean lookout over the town and the mighty Clarence River.

Take a relaxing stroll along the Town Centre Boulevard with the beautifully restored shop fronts, browse through the many and varied shops and art & craft galleries and pick yourself up a special gift or souvenir. Enjoy a stop along the river bank and soak up the river charm of the mighty Clarence. For golfing enthusiasts there is an 18-hole course located in beautiful surroundings on Woodford Island. With a riverside caravan park, two motels, hotels and some charming bed and breakfasts your accommodation needs are covered.

Maclean is the southern gateway of the sugar industry and Harwood Island Sugar Mill, the oldest continuous working mill in Australia, has been crushing cane since 1874. Maclean is also the headquarters for the prawn trawlers that harvest the 90 kilometre tidal length of the Clarence from the river mouth to the Ulmarra ferry. Maclean is also an excellent place for an enthusiastic angler to drop a line.

Maclean is very proud of its heritage and has been proclaimed "The Scottish Town in Australia". A cairn of rocks from Australia and Scotland, commemorates Maclean's Scottish pioneers. Each year the clans invade for the Easter Highland Gathering and Scottish Week is celebrated in July. Many street signs carry Gaelic translations and more than 100 telegraph poles along the main streets have been painted in the tartans of local Scottish clans. Call into the local souvenir shop to pick up a map and track down your family tartan.

Temperatures for Maclean

Maclean has moderate summer temperatures. The summer high temperature for Maclean is approximately 28 °c. The summer low temperature is approximately 18 °c.

Maclean has warm winter temperatures. The winter high temperature for Maclean is approximately 21 °c. The winter low temperature is approximately 8 °c.

Maclean Accommodation

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Guide to Maclean New South Wales Australia

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Home Places To Go New South Wales North Coast NSW Maclean

Maclean, NSW

Three minutes off the Pacific Highway is the river town of Maclean , with a relaxed lifestyle that offers everything you’ve dreamed of.

Explore all the historic architecture of the town, take the heritage walking trail, visit the museum and don’t miss the breathtaking views from the Maclean lookout over the town and the mighty Clarence River.

Take a relaxing stroll along the town centre boulevarde with the beautifully restored shop fronts, browse through the many and varied shops and art& craft galleries and pick yourself up a special gift or souvenir. Enjoy a stop along the river bank and soak up the river charm of the mighty Clarence.

For golfing enthusiasts there is an 18-hole course located in beautiful surroundings on Woodford Island.

With a riverside caravan park, two motels, hotels and some charming bed and breakfasts your accommodation needs are covered.

Maclean is the headquarters for the prawn trawlers that harvest the 90 kilometre tidal length of the Clarence from the river mouth to the Ulmarra ferry. Maclean is also an excellent place for an enthusiastic angler to drop a line.

Maclean is very proud of its heritage and has been proclaimed “The Scottish Town in Australia”. A cairn of rocks from Australia and Scotland, commemorates Maclean’s Scottish pioneers.

Each year the clans invade for the Easter Highland Gathering and Scottish Week is celebrated in July. Many street signs carry Gaelic translations and more than 100 telegraph poles along the main streets have been painted in the tartans of local Scottish clans.

Call into the local souvenir shop to pick up a map and track down your family tartan. Maclean is the southern gateway of the sugar industry and Harwood Island Sugar Mill, the oldest continuous working mill in Australia, has been crushing cane since 1874.

Nearest Airport: Grafton

Where to stay?

Popular activities, about maclean.

• Locality: Urban locality
• Maclean Postcode: 2463
• State: New South Wales
• Region: North Coast NSW
• Latitude: -29.45796
• Longitude: 153.19687
• Elevation: 5m
• Population: 2628
• Median Income: $23660
• Area (Sq/km): 9.732
• Timezone: Australia/Sydney

Accommodation In Maclean

Discover some of the accommodation in and around Maclean

• Argyle Hotel
• Clarence Hotel
• Maclean Hotel
• Maclean Riverside Caravan Park
• Motel Maclean
• Waterview Motel

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Australia has wide variety of accommodation options to suit most budgets and travelling preferences. Choose from luxury lodges, boutique hotels, serviced apartments, motels, bed and breakfasts, caravan parks as well as youth and backpacker hostels.

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1. Clarence River

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Curious North Coast: Why is Maclean the most Scottish town in Australia?

Curious North Coast NSW Curious North Coast: Why is Maclean the most Scottish town in Australia?

Maclean is a small rural town in northern NSW on the banks of the mighty Clarence river, known as Australia's most Scottish town.

This has come about thanks to a combination of history, happenstance and a little marketing know-how.

Maclean Scottish Town of Australia committee president Robert McPherson said Caledonians arrived in the area in the 1840s, attracted by the Victorian gold rush.

Starvation due to the potato blight and the fallout after the battle of Culloden forced them to leave the country they loved.

"They made their way up to northern NSW when the Government was opening up free land to them, and when they arrived here there was nothing but that mighty big river out there," he said.

"So when they cleared the cedar off the banks of the river, and that all happened near Ashby, an area across from Maclean on the other side of the Clarence River, they found they had all this open land, very rich with flood mud.

"They set about growing crops and eventually sugar cane came down here. That really started this area off."

The town was eventually settled on the other side of the river.

How was the town named?

In 1862 it officially became a town and was named Maclean.

While many of its residents had deep Scottish history, the Scottish name was just a fortunate coincidence.

"When they came here it was known as the rocky mouth because there was rocks at the entrance to the river, and then it became known as the big river," Mr McPherson said.

"It wasn't until a government sent a surveyor out to survey the village and officially set it out as a town that it was given the name Maclean.

"It so happened that Alexander Maclean was the surveyor."

Marketing Maclean

Over the years the township grew and the Pacific Highway was built through the town.

But there was a big S-bend in the highway, which caused lots of traffic dramas.

"And that came about by Scots owning property and not allowing the main street to go through one property or another, so they bent the main street around the two Scots' properties," Mr McPherson said.

"So then the highway bypassed Maclean about 1966. And then we went through a period where the sugar prices just dropped and the town was going through an economic downturn."

Local bank manager Graham Leach came up with the idea of marketing Maclean as a Scottish town and pitched the concept to the local Rotary, Apex and Lions clubs.

A committee was formed, which Mr McPherson was part of.

"At that time the big things were floated like the big pineapple or the big banana or big prawn ," he said.

"All these things were floated. But Graham felt that we shouldn't go down that path.

"He felt we should dig into our heritage and lock into the formation of our town, and of course we still had the Highland gathering which traditionally ran every Easter.

"Since we have painted the tartan poles, that has been a major drawcard because people want to come and get their photo taken next to the tartan poles."

Painted power poles a hit

The painted tartan power poles of Maclean are now world famous and pivotal in attracting tourists to the Scottish mecca.

But the painting of the poles did not happen overnight.

"It was three years of negotiation with authorities. That goes back to the year 2000," Mr McPherson said.

"The idea came from when the Olympic torch was going through Australia and as many towns as possible to promote it, and it was to come through Maclean.

"So my little committee came up with the idea to welcome the torch to Maclean that will get national television exposure. So we decided to paint the poles in tartan."

The committee began by painting the poles on the route of the torch relay.

But they became so popular, people started paying for them to be painted at the front of their properties.

"We got to 100 poles and I said that was enough because it was all voluntary painted," Mr McPherson said.

"Then we had people with good reason, who wanted to remember their dad or they had a 100th birthday or whatever, so we started painting again and we got to 240, and I had to put a stop to it because once they are painted you have to maintain them."

Who wants to know? David Cook now calls Maclean home, and he has always wondered why the town got its Scottish title. "I'm originally from Byron Bay and moved down here nine years ago, and I'd really like to know why Maclean is the most Scottish town in Australia. "I see people blowing bagpipes and eating haggis and getting dressed up quite proudly in their kilts and that sort of thing, and it's something I never saw where I used to come from. It's totally different and fascinates me."

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Maclean Scottish Shop

Things to do maclean , clarence valley , new south wales.

The Maclean Scottish Shop has a dual purpose: Supplying tourist information, as well as advice, for the immediate area and the greater Maclean surrounds. They sell Scottish memorabilia and souvenirs, in addition to promoting Maclean, as the Scottish Town in Australia.

The friendly staff are quite knowledgeable about all things Maclean and can provide an insight into the history of the area. One feature that they are quite proud of is the power poles which have been named and painted in a variety of clan tartans.

All this information and more can be gleaned from the Scottish Shop volunteers during opening hours.

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Maclean, Clarence Valley

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THE 5 BEST Things to Do in Maclean

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1. Clarence River

2. Maclean Lookout

3. Witzig Gallery

4. Maclean District Historical Society Incorporated

5. Kingstudio

6. Maclean Golf Club

7. Ferry Park Gallery

8. Mobilebarn

What travellers are saying.

• Clarence River
• Maclean Lookout
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• Maclean District Historical Society Incorporated

Evgeny Kuznetsov leads Hurricanes past Islanders 3-1 in Game 1

Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and an assist for the host Carolina Hurricanes in a 3-1 win against the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round matchup on Saturday evening in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Stefan Noesen scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Brady Skjei had two assists, and Frederik Andersen made 34 saves for Carolina.

"It was a tough game. I think the first two periods went their way, to be honest with you, I'm glad that we got the win," Kuznetsov said. "That's not how we want to play. We've got to make sure we fix that before the next game."

The Canes also beat the Islanders in Game 1 of the opening round last season before winning the series in six games.

Kyle MacLean scored and Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves for the Islanders, who finished third in the Metropolitan Division during the regular season, 17 points behind the Hurricanes.

"We came up short, but all year we've been resilient and this is the moment to continue to do that," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. "It came down to not being capable to score with our great chances."

The Hurricanes moved ahead 2-1 at 3:44 of the third period.

Kuznetsov took a shot from the right point that was tipped by Skjei and then hit Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock before Noesen swept the loose puck into the net from in front of the crease.

Martin Necas scored into an empty net with 1:32 left for a 3-1 lead.

Anders Lee went to the penalty box for holding Skjei at 1:22 of the first period and the Hurricanes scored 13 seconds into the power play to take a 1-0 lead.

Bo Horvat won the faceoff for Islanders to start the penalty kill, but Andrei Svechnikov was able to keep a clearing attempt by Adam Pelech in the New York zone. The puck made its way to Kuznetsov in the left circle and he bankedCarolina's first shot of the game off the crossbar and into the net.

"I usually pass from that area, but I saw nobody come at me and I decided to shoot the puck and it worked out pretty well," Kuznetsov said.

The Islanders tied it 1-1 at 8:20 of the first.

Alexander Romanov stopped a clearing attempt by the Hurricanes from leaving their zone and then took a wrist shot that was deflected by Lee on the way to the net. Andersen made the save, but couldn't secure the puck as he sprawled in the crease and MacLean swept it into the net.

New York outshot the Hurricanes 13-6 in the scoreless second period.

Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson hit the right post with a slap shot 45 seconds into the third period. The puck then caromed off Andersen, who made an off-balance save on a follow-up try by Dobson as he lost his stick into thecorner.

The Hurricanes scored less than three minutes later.