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What People Love About Oxley Beach
A place that doesn't need to be built to be valuable
For many people, Oxley Beach is already one of Port Macquarie's most treasured places.
It is one of the last remaining natural beaches within the town centre—a place where people can experience an undeveloped coastline, connect with nature, spend time with family, exercise, reflect, learn about Birpai culture and simply enjoy the ocean as it has existed for generations.
Unlike many recreational spaces that rely on constructed facilities, Oxley Beach's greatest value lies in what is already there.
Our community survey, completed by 781 respondents, found overwhelming appreciation for Oxley Beach as a natural public space. Respondents consistently described the beach as peaceful, beautiful, unspoilt and irreplaceable, with the vast majority wanting its natural character retained for future generations.
A place people use every day
Oxley Beach is far more than a beach.
It is one of the community's most diverse public open spaces, supporting recreation, health, wellbeing, culture and social connection throughout the year.
Our survey found that:
98% of respondents use Oxley Beach for beach activities such as walking, dog walking, fishing and rockpooling.
94% use the area for walking, running, exercise and personal fitness.
62% gather there with family and friends.
47% visit for quiet reflection and relaxation.
42% use the beach for swimming, snorkelling and other ocean activities.
These results reinforce what many locals already know—Oxley Beach is one of the most well-used natural community spaces in Port Macquarie.
More than recreation
The value of Oxley Beach cannot be measured simply by visitor numbers.
People visit because it offers something increasingly rare within an urban environment.
It is a place where people can:
walk along the Port Macquarie Coastal Walk
watch whales and dolphins offshore
fish from the rocks
explore rock pools with children
walk dogs on the area's designated on-leash beach
enjoy family picnics and barbecues
celebrate weddings and family milestones
hold memorials and scatter ashes
connect with Birpai Country
enjoy quiet moments overlooking the ocean.
These experiences require very little infrastructure. They exist because the beach has remained largely natural.
The only natural beach in the town centre
As Port Macquarie has grown, much of the foreshore has been developed with roads, seawalls, promenades, buildings and recreational infrastructure.
Oxley Beach remains one of the few places within the CBD where people can still experience an undeveloped stretch of coastline.
This natural character contributes to the identity of Port Macquarie itself.
Not every public space needs to be developed to be valuable. Sometimes the greatest public benefit comes from protecting what already exists.
The value of keeping some places natural
Modern communities need parks, sporting facilities, aquatic centres and public infrastructure.
They also need places that remain largely untouched.
Natural coastal landscapes provide benefits that are difficult to measure financially but are recognised internationally as contributing to community wellbeing, biodiversity, cultural identity and quality of life.
These intangible values include:
opportunities to experience nature close to the town centre
peaceful places for reflection and mental wellbeing
scenic beauty and sense of place
protection of wildlife habitat
opportunities for environmental education
preserving cultural landscapes
leaving something natural for future generations.
Once a natural coastal landscape is permanently engineered, those qualities cannot simply be recreated elsewhere.
A place of cultural significance
Oxley Beach forms part of the traditional Country of the Birpai People and remains an important cultural landscape where connections to Country continue today.
Protect Oxley Beach has worked closely with Birpai Traditional Owners to ensure their voices are heard throughout this process.
With permission, we share the following words from Birpai Elder Dr Aunty Rhonda Radley:
"Sacred places are stories, connections and obligations to care for Country. This place now known as Oxley Beach has sacredness, significance and history for the Birpai people and locals of this area. This beautiful natural landscape and stories belong to our children's children, future generations. Say no to the Oxley Beach proposal."
These words remind us that Oxley Beach is more than a location on a map. It is part of a living cultural landscape with responsibilities that extend beyond the present generation.
What our community told us
Throughout our survey, people consistently expressed a desire to retain Oxley Beach as a natural place.
Some of the comments included:
"Oxley Beach is a beautiful unspoilt beach and should be protected at all costs."
"Traditional Birpai land must be conserved. There are other costs—not just financial—but the loss of Country and connection."
"This beach is zoned C2 for a reason. Keep this a development-free zone."
"If it was for the community, they'd choose a better location."
"We do not need to damage our coastal environment just to please a handful of the community."
While opinions differ about the idea of an ocean pool, the survey found remarkable consistency on one point: people value Oxley Beach for what it already is.
Preserving something that cannot be replaced
Protect Oxley Beach supports investment in community recreation.
We also believe every community should retain places that remain natural, culturally significant and environmentally intact.
Once heavily engineered infrastructure is introduced, the existing landscape, ecology, cultural setting and sense of place cannot simply be restored.
For many people, the greatest legacy we can leave future generations is not another piece of infrastructure—but the continued protection of one of Port Macquarie's last natural beaches within the town centre.
That is what so many people already love about Oxley Beach.
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