Bellinger River facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bellinger River
2009
Other name(s)	North Arm Bellingen River, North Arm Bellinger River
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
IBRA	NSW North Coast
District	Mid North Coast
Local government area	Bellingen
Physical characteristics
Main source	Great Dividing Range below Point Lookout, near Ebor 1,150 m (3,770 ft)
River mouth	Tasman Sea, South Pacific Ocean east of Urunga 0 m (0 ft)
Length	109 km (68 mi)
Basin features
Basin size	1,100 km2 (420 sq mi)
Tributaries	Left: Hydes Creek, Woods Creek (New South Wales), Never Never River Right: Boggy Creek
National Parks	New England NP, Bellinger River NP

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

The Bellinger River is home to the rare freshwater snapping turtle the, Bellinger River is the only place they are found on Earth. Bellinger River Valley, as seen from Point Lookout, 1995

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 69 kilometres (43 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.