This is the fifth year the Port Macquarie-Hastings and Kempsey Shire Councils have joined forces during NSW National Trust's Heritage Festival to showcase the heritage of the area.

The Hastings and Macleay regions are unique communities but both boast natural beauty, significant heritage items and history, cultural diversity and an enviable way of life.

This year's theme, The Making of Our Nation - "our future is not as a penal colony...but a free settlement" - ties in well with 2010 as the 200th anniversary of Governor Lachlan Macquarie's 12-year tenure as the fifth Governor of the colony of New South Wales, who was sworn in on 1 January 1810.

Governor Macquarie is widely recognised as being responsible for transforming the new colony from a penal settlement to a flourishing society.

The Heritage Festival is an important annual celebration for Kempsey and Port Macquarie. It's an opportunity to feel and experience our heritage first-hand through a wide array of tours, displays, performances and demonstrations. It also highlights how history has shaped our current communities and environment.

The booklet below which contains a comprehensive list of all the events and activities on offer for the 2010 Heritage Festival can be viewed and downloaded in pdf format. Adobe Reader is required to view this document.

2010 Heritage Festival Booklet (1.26 MB)