Maclean, New South Wales

Maclean is a town in Clarence Valley local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Clarence River and near the Pacific Highway. At the, Maclean had a population of 2,600, the total area including Gulmarrad and Townsend districts had a population of 5,061. Its industries are tourism, sugar cane production, farming and river-prawn trawling.PhysicalityMaclean is nestled at the base of Mt Maclean and the shoreline of the Clarence River were the river reunites after splitting around Woodford Island. A bridge connects Woodford Island to Maclean. It is part of the Tourist Drive 22. During times of heavy rain the town is under threat of flooding by the surging waters of the river.Realignment of the Pacific Highway has reduced the traffic thought the town. More road work is currently happening and should be complete by 2020.HistoryThe area was originally inhabited by the Gumbaingirr or Yaygir indigenous peoples. Matthew Flinders landed near the mouth of the Clarence River in 1798.Cedar cutting began in the area in the 1830s. The Maclean area was known as Rocky Mouth in the 1850s. The township was officially laid out in 1862 and named after Alexander Grant McLean, the Surveyor-General. The sugar industry began to develop around 1865.