Bellingen

Bellingen sits on the Bellinger River between the coast and the Dorrigo escarpment, and it kept a main street of substantial timber and brick buildings from its cedar-cutting and dairy years, including the Hammond and Wheatley emporium and the old butter factory. From the 1970s it drew people looking for an alternative life in the hinterland, and the mix shows in the bookshops, organic grocers, music venues and monthly community markets. A colony of grey-headed flying foxes roosts on Bellingen Island in the river, an easy walk from town and noisy at dusk when they leave to feed. Music festivals, a readers and writers festival and a strong local food scene punctuate the year.

History

The Gumbaynggirr people first lived in the valley, and the stockman William Myles, the first European to find it, came in 1840 and returned the next year with the surveyor Clement Hodgkinson, who named the area after the Gumbaynggirr word for the river, Billingen; a draughtsman later misread his final n as an r, so the river became the Bellinger while the town stayed Bellingen. Hodgkinson reported fine cedar and rosewood, cedar cutters and sheep were here by 1842, and in July 1843 the first cargo of red cedar left the valley for Sydney, with 20 pit sawyers working the river that year (Wikipedia, Bellingen, New South Wales).

What you'll find

• The heritage main street - timber and brick buildings from the cedar and dairy era.
• The flying fox colony - grey-headed flying foxes on Bellingen Island.
• The markets - monthly community and growers markets in town.
• The river valley - farmland between the coast and the escarpment.

When to go

Year-round; the hinterland is mild, though summer is humid and subject to heavy rain, and flooding has cut the town off at times. Market days and festival weekends are the liveliest. Autumn and spring are most comfortable.

Practical notes

The town is small and a visit takes a few hours unless timed with a market or festival. Accommodation is limited. The flying fox colony smells strongly and can be noisy at close range.

Nearby

Dorrigo National Park lies up the mountain west; Coffs Harbour and Urunga are on the coast.

Key facts