Bellinger River

Bellinger River
North Arm Bellingen River, North Arm Bellinger River
Open/trained mature wave dominated, barrier estuary
Bellinger River Valley, as seen from Point Lookout
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
IBRA	NSW North Coast
District	Mid North Coast
Local government area	Bellingen
Tributaries
- left	Hydes Creek, Woods Creek (New South Wales), Never Never River
- right	Boggy Creek
Towns	Bellingen, Mylestom
Source	Great Dividing Range
- location	below Point Lookout, near Ebor
- elevation	1,150 m (3,773 ft)
Mouth	Tasman Sea, South Pacific Ocean
- location	east of Urunga
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	109 km (68 mi)
Depth	1.8 m (6 ft)
Volume	14,442 m3 (510,014 cu ft)
Basin	1,100 km2 (425 sq mi)
Area	8.2 km2 (3 sq mi)
National Parks	New England NP, Bellinger River NP
Website: NSW Environment and Heritage webpage

Bellinger River, an open and trained mature wave dominated, barrier estuary, is located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features

Bellinger River rises below Point Lookout within the Great Dividing Range, southeast of Ebor, and flows in a meandering course generally east, joined by four tributaries including Never Never River, before reaching its mouth at the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean, east of Urunga. The river descends 1,150 metres (3,770 ft) over its 109 kilometres (68 mi) course.

Parts of the Bellinger River are contained within the Bellinger River National Park and the New England National Park. Other land uses in the valley include livestock grazing and forestry.

Waterfall Way is located adjacent to the middle reaches of the Bellinger River; and towards its mouth, the river is transversed by the Pacific Highway, near Raleigh.

A rare Australian turtle, the Emydura macquarii (or the Bellinger River freshwater turtle), has a restricted distribution in the upper Bellinger River above Thora.

History

Clement Hodgkinson was the first European to explore the area in March 1841.

See also

• Rivers of New South Wales
• List of rivers of Australia