Historical Sites and Heritage Locations

Access to Innes Ruins is closed until further notice due to the impacts of the 2019 bushfires.

Innes Ruins has a charming setting looking over Lake Innes and is an important remnant of early settlement days on the north coast of NSW. Built by Major Archibald Clunes Innes, it contains rich history about the settlement of NSW, convict labour and the culture of the 1800s.

The Depression of the 1840s brought financial ruin to Innes, and the closure of Port Macquarie as a penal settlement deprived him of convict labour. Following his departure, the house was occupied by a number of people over time, but was derelict by the beginning of the 1900s. It subsequently deteriorated to its present state as a result of natural decay and vandalism.

Today, the ruins are classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).