Old Bar is a remote coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in Mid-Coast Council. It lies around east of Taree on the Mid North Coast, and around north of Sydney.
Geography Old Bar is on the southern side of the mouth of the Manning River.
Demographics The population of the urban centre was measured at 3,650 people in the , and that of the suburb proper which includes some surrounding rural area at 4,272 people. It grew rapidly during a boom in housing in 1988.
Airstrip
Old Bar is a common place for light aircraft operations. Old Bar Airfield is an authorised grass airfield used for light aircraft takeoff and landing and is heritage listed.Siossian, Emma, "Aviation tales from Old Bar Airfield portray a tiny airstrip with a big history still in use today", ABC Mid North Coast, Saturday, 12 February 2022.
History 2019 Bushfire In November 2019, a bushfire that started at Hillville, south of Taree, jumped the Pacific Highway into the path of Old Bar and Wallabi Point. The day before, the NSW Rural Fire Service told residents in these areas to get out or defend. One home was confirmed lost on Old Bar Road.
Heritage listings Old Bar has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: 0.5 km off Old Bar Road: Old Bar Airfield
Shared-use cycleways Old Bar includes shared-use cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, including the Old Bar Cycleway connecting parts of the township and surrounding areas.
References