Founded in 1979 by Aub Houlahan, Peter Latimer, and John Chapman, and supported by original committee members Zel Houlahan, Stephanie Latimer, Aileen Chapman, Barry Ruddock, Dorothy “Dot” Ruddock, Les Short and Jimmy Rourke, the 1st Annual Eisteddfod occurred under the original name “Hastings District Eisteddfod Society, Festival of Dance”. The founding committee worked diligently to get the very first Eisteddfod up and running as a dance competition to support dancers from Parry School of Dance, held in the original Port Macquarie Civic Centre, which stood where the Glasshouse Theatre stands today. Our first Adjudicator, John Byrne, adjudicated for 100 competitors over three days of competition.

As the dance community in Port Macquarie grew, so did our eisteddfod. We adopted the name “Port Macquarie & District Eisteddfod Society” in 2001, under the loving care of Ray and Angela Wilson.  Ray and Angela were pivotal to the Eisteddfod’s success from the late 1990s through to the late 2010s, serving the Dance Eisteddfod for over 20 continuous years.

Both Ray and Angela were on the committee in various capacities, but most notably as President and Secretary of the Executive Committee. Their continuous hard work and dedication were nothing short of inspirational, and their guidance was instrumental in developing the Eisteddfod into one of the most prestigious regional Eisteddfods in Australia. Additional notable figures of the eisteddfod's history include Sandra Thompson, innovator of the Speech & Drama Eisteddfod's success, and Kaylene Noble, for her passion in bringing Music competition to our region.

Today, our eisteddfod is still run by an extremely hardworking and dedicated committee of volunteers, who generously give their time to run the eisteddfod, which has grown significantly, into 16 days of dance and 4 days of drama, held across 3 different venues, employing the services of 4 different adjudicators, to adjudicate over 1000 competitors, dance studios and educational schools within the Mid North Coast and beyond. We are committed to creating a friendly competition for local performers, and a platform to build up the performing arts community, fostering lifelong friendships and lasting memories.