View across Camden Haven from Middle Brother

Kendall
Quiet village named after a famous Australian poet
Kendall is a quiet village of some 250 people located just off the Pacific Highway, 371 km north-east of Sydney and 36 km south-west of Port Macquarie. It was originally known as Camden Heads as it is situated on the Camden Haven River but was later changed in honour of poet Henry Kendall.

Despite critical success with his poetry, Kendall was troubled by poverty, depression, family problems and alcoholism in the late 1860s and early 1870s. He was found not guilty of forging a cheque on the grounds of insanity in 1870 and his wife moved in with her brothers. Kendall become a homeless derelict and dipsomaniac and, after a nervous breakdown, he wound up in an institution where he regained some equilibrium. The Fagan family of Gosford then took him under their wing and, in 1875, he was sent to work in their store at what was then Camden Heads. There his wife rejoined him and he returned to physical and mental health.

While in Camden Heads he composed topical and political skits for the press and, in 1879, wrote the words for the cantata to be sung at the Sydney International Exhibition. He also won 100 guineas for an occasional poem in celebration of the same event. Kendall's third volume of verse, Songs From the Mountains (1880) was his first financial success, selling a record number of copies in the first two months. The following year he left Kendall as Henry Parkes obtained for him an inspectorship of State Forests but the work proved damaging to his health and he collapsed and soon died in 1882.

A pine tree in the main street now marks the site of Kendall's house and there is a plaque in his honour in a small park off the main street.

The mountain known as Middle Brother looms to the south of the township. Kendall is surrounded by forestry which incorporates two of the state's tallest trees.

Things to see:  

Norfolk Punch
Head south-west out of town and turn left into Batar Creek Rd where you will find the Norfolk Punch Factory - a mud-brick structure where traditional Norfolk punch is brewed. You can tour the factory, enjoy a glass of hot or cold punch and inspect the kitchen museum or herb garden. There are a range of gift items. They are open Monday to Friday from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and every day in the school holidays, tel: (02) 6559 4464.

Middle Brother State Forest
To the south of town is Middle Brother State Forest which occupies the slopes of Middle Brother Mountain (556 m). Together with North Brother and South Brother it was named by Captain Cook who saw it from the coast in 1770.

Head south-west out of town and turn left into Batar Creek Rd which leads into Western Boundary Rd on the western edge of the forest. About 10 or 11 km from Kendall there is a walking track to the left which leads a short distance to Big Fella Gum Tree, a 67-m flooded gum amidst rainforest and bangalow palm.

Continue south along the Western Boundary Rd for another kilometre then turn left into Mudforde Rd. After about 3 km there is an intersection. If you turn right into TV Road, it is about 2 km to the turnoff, on the right, to the peak of Middle Brother Mountain where there is a TV transmitter and a fire lookout. From the summit there are fine views over the Camden Haven River Valley. To the east one can see the coastline of Crowdy Bay, to the north-east is North Brother Mountain, to the north are the tree-lined slopes of Broken Bago Bluff near Wauchope, to the north-west is Comboyne Peak, capped by a fire lookout, and to the south it is possible to see the river flats of the Manning Valley.

If, instead of turning right onto TV Road, you turn left into Grey Gum Ridge Road, you will, after about 1.5 km, come to a picnic area on the left where there are fireplaces, tables and drinking water. It is a 400-metre drive from the picnic site to two of the state's largest blackbutts - the 'Bird Tree' (69 metres tall and 3.6 metres in diameter) and 'Benarkin' (64 metres tall and 4.1 metres in diameter).You may wish to stretch your legs and access the trees by following the 10-minute walking trail which leads off at the road junction nearby.

If you continue along Grey Gum Ridge Rd a short distance you will soon come to a turnoff on the left into Old Lookout Rd which leads to an old fire lookout from whence Kendall can be seen in the near distance.

You can also enter the forest from the eastern side by turning off the Pacific Highway into Hoydens Rd or TV Road. The roads mentioned are all advertised by brown-and-white forestry signs. They are quite suitable for 2WD vehicles, unless it is very wet, but care and slow speeds are always essential. For further information ring the Wauchope Office of State Forests of NSW on (02) 6585 3744.

Coopernook Forest Drive
Coopernook Forest Drive passes through the Coopernook, Lansdowne and Comboyne State Forests, following Stewarts River for quite some distance. It is well signposted with brown-and-white signs and is suitable for 2WD vehicles in dry weather but slow speeds and care are vital.

The drive commences from the Forest Headquarters just north of Coopernook (34 km south of Kendall). The route takes in Coopernook Forest Park, Vincents Lookout (330 metres above sea-level), Newbys Creek Walk, Newbys Lookout, Starrs Creek Picnic Area, Big Nellie Mountain (a 560-metre volcanic plug), Flat Rock Lookout (atop a 500-metre drop to the valley floor) and the modest Waitui Falls where there are swimming and picnicking opportunities.

State Forests of NSW publish a guiding pamphlet of the drive, tel: (02) 6551 0249.