The last eighties track and final karaoke song has more than likely been played at the iconic night club which has been an institution of Port Macquarie's party scene for four decades.

It's now up for sale and trading has been suspended.

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WITH the news Down Under has closed, the Port News went out and grabbed a few reactions from local people and their favourite (or not so favourite) memories of a place which has become a Port Macquarie institution.

Chris Hetherington: It’s a good place to now not have to go to at the end of the night. Danny Roberts: The missus has been there a lot so it just means she can’t go there anymore.

Danny Roberts: The missus has been there a lot so it just means she can’t go there anymore.

Kelly Dingle: It was a great spot and was always the last place of the night.

Emma Parke: It had great old school music and you’d dance all night. 

Rowena Beukers: It was that good I don’t remember a lot of my nights there.

Todd Bourke: I used to always ask myself what I was doing there.

Joe Tonkin: Old ladies, goon sacks and great times.

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Owner Rod Bell said the decision was made when long term licensee Max Gunsberger retired a fortnight ago.

"We don't know anything about running a business like that and to be honest we have no interest in doing it either," Mr Bell said.

"It's all up in the air at the moment (the future of the place) whether someone buys the building and the business as a whole and reopens it as a night club or not, we don't know.

"There has been a lot of interest in it already though. We just want to sell the place and start again with clear heads."

The Down Under night club is believed to be one of the oldest in the country and one of the first outside of Sydney when it opened its doors in 1975 operating as Helmuts.

The name was eventually changed to Lees before it was again renamed Down Under in 1982 in honour of the hit song released by Australian band Men at Work.

The operators have since paid homage to the song by playing it every night at closing time.

Former licensee Gunsberger said he had many fond memories, but joked that he purposely wiped them in a bid to keep the peace.

"I like to say I don't remember anything to protect the innocent parties involved," he said. "Let's just say there'd be a few upset marriages in Port Macquarie."

He looked back at his time at the club and reminisced about how the industry has changed.

"When I first started working there in the 70s, in those days, if we didn't have a couple of good blues for the night it was considered a failure," he said. "Now, someone looks at someone the wrong way and it's bad."

But he said the political correctness has now gone too far and is affecting Port Macquarie's tourism trade.

"Port is losing its tourist and party trade because of it," he said.

"People can't go out and have a drink because as soon as they start to have a good time they get stopped."

One of the long-serving staff members Nick Potts said he and other former employees were devastated at the news of the closure.

"I've been going there since I was 18 and the last 12 years as an employee," he said.

Having worked behind the DownUnder bar for so long Potts said he was aware of the negative stigma the club attracted over the years.

"There's going to be a lot of people who say 'so what it's closed, good riddance'," he admitted.

"I've heard a lot of people say bad things about the place in the past but then you see them there a couple weeks later. It's funny like that most of them still end up back there."

Luke Horton from Raine and Horne Commercial confirmed the real estate was appointed as selling agent but stressed it was "very early stages yet".

"We haven't locked in a price yet we're waiting on clarification on aspects of licensing and operation," he said. "At this stage we're thinking it will be an out of town purchaser so we will eventually target the Sydney market."