[2] It is on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs.

[7] The town of Morpeth was initially created through the private actions of Edward Charles Close, who selected a property of 1,000 hectares and developed it as a river port from 1831-1841.

St James's Church, located on Tank Street, was built from 1837 to 1840 and was partly designed by John Horbury Hunt is now a Local Government Heritage listing.

The construction of the Great Northern Railway in 1857, bypassing Morpeth, meant that Newcastle developed as the regional port.

Today, the town is a popular tourist destination due to its many historical buildings and river bank setting.