Bellingen community: what's on, notices and family news

Alerts

In an emergency call 000.

Fire danger today

NONE No rating today. Stay alert.

No Total Fire Ban today. Gas, electric, wood and charcoal BBQs are fine with care: keep an adult on it, water handy and nothing that burns nearby. Burning off or a fire in the open? Check if you need a permit.

Tomorrow: NONE

Source: NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire Danger Ratings (North Coast). Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am.

Fires within 100 km

No fires listed within 100 km.

Source: NSW Rural Fire Service, Fires Near Me. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am.

Weather warnings

• 25/04:00 EDT Marine Wind Warning Summary for New South Wales
• 25/04:31 EDT Warning to Sheep Graziers for Northern Tablelands, South Coast, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Riverina and Snowy Mountains forecast districts

Source: Bureau of Meteorology, NSW warnings. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am.

Roads now

No crashes, floods or fires listed on roads within 40 km.

Source: Live Traffic NSW (Transport for NSW, open data)

One app instead of 40+

Your page right now: 42 apps and sites you no longer need to check.

No more checking 42 apps and websites every morning: that’s about 42 min back every day, or 4 hr 54 min a week (at about a minute an app). Everything below is on your page or one tap away.

= 1 Daily Maverick, your way

See which feature replaces which app

With 3 locals on board, that’s 126 app checks saved every day.

Emergency wait now

• 4waiting right now
  Usually 14 at this time · Quieter than usual
  Coffs Harbour Base Hospital · 02 6656 7000
  NSW Health figure from 10:00 am

The number already assessed by a triage nurse and waiting for treatment. The most seriously ill are always seen first. In an emergency call 000.

Bellingen River District Hospital doesn't report wait times to NSW Health.

Not sure you need emergency? Call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, 24/7, to talk to a registered nurse.

Source: NSW Health Emergency Department Waiting Times

Scam watch

Buying from a business you don't know? Check the NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register first: it lists businesses with 10 or more complaints in a month.

Scam watch: report a scam, the tips banks agree on, product recalls →

Why you'll love Bellingen

What 2454 has that nowhere else does. Every fact sourced.

• A calendar packed with festivals
  The town hosts the Bellingen Jazz and Blues Festival, the Bello Winter Music Festival, the Global Carnival, and the Readers and Writers Festival, which began in 2011.

  Source: Wikipedia

• The setting of a Booker Prize winner
  Bellingen is the notional setting of Peter Carey's Booker Prize-winning novel Oscar and Lucinda. The town was also a filming location for the 2003 comedy Danny Deckchair.

  Source: Wikipedia

• One letter separates town and river
  Surveyor Clement Hodgkinson wrote down the Gumbaynggirr name as 'Billingen'. A draughtsman reportedly misread the 'n' as an 'r', so the river became the Bellinger while the town stayed Bellingen.

  Source: Wikipedia

All the reasons to love Bellingen →

What's on

Specials, members nights, trivia, live music, markets and events around Bello, in one place.

These venues' websites block automatic reading, so we can't show their specials: C.ex Urunga (weekly activities), C.ex Urunga (club page). Check with them directly.

Read from each venue's own website twice a day. Specials can change, so check with the venue before you go. Know a venue we're missing? Tell us.

What’s on in Bellingen

Nothing listed in 2454 yet. Know something on? Add it free.

+ Add an event (free)

Births, Deaths and Marriages

Just for curiosity

Trending baby names

NSWAustraliaWorldBy decadeYour nameIdeas with Mav

Top 10 across NSW, 2025

Girls

1. CHARLOTTE =
2. AMELIA =
3. OLIVIA =
4. ISLA ▲1
5. MIA ▼1
6. SOPHIA ▲3
7. CHLOE ▼1
8. HAZEL =
9. LILY ▲2
10. SIENNA ▲3

Biggest climber: LAINEY, up 41 to #56

Highest new entry: AMIRA at #79

Boys

1. NOAH =
2. OLIVER =
3. THEODORE =
4. LUCA =
5. LEO ▲1
6. HENRY ▼1
7. ELIJAH ▲3
8. LEVI ▲5
8. HUDSON ▼1
10. JACK ▲4

Biggest climber: ELIAS, up 52 to #35

Highest new entry: MATEO at #65

Source: the latest full-year list from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Arrows show the move since 2024. NSW doesn't publish names by town. Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 10:04 am.

See all Births, Deaths and Marriages →

Handy tools

Gen Alpha interpreter What did your kid just say? Jimmy Joel translates →

Dog friendly

Off-leash beaches, dog parks and places happy to see your dog. If there’s nothing mapped, it says so.

Source: OpenStreetMap (OpenStreetMap contributors), the free map anyone can add to.

LGBTQ+ friendly

Local places that welcome everyone. If there’s nothing mapped, it says so.

Source: OpenStreetMap (OpenStreetMap contributors), the free map anyone can add to.

Fuel prices in Bellingen

Source: NSW FuelCheck

Supermarket watch

The everyday basics at each supermarket today. Green is cheapest, red is dearest. We update these prices twice a day, around 6am and 2pm, so you always know how fresh they are.

Cheapest basket today (milk, bread, eggs, chocolate): Coles at $18.30, Woolworths $20.30.

Woolworths and ALDI don’t let us check their prices. Their websites block automatic price checks, so we can’t show them side by side with the others. That’s their choice, not ours. We show what we can find, and we tell you when we can’t.

Online prices from each supermarket's own website, house brand where there is one. Checked: Woolworths Wed, 21 Oct, 2:00 pm · ALDI Wed, 21 Oct, 2:00 pm · Coles Sun, 25 Oct, 6:00 am. Prices in store and specials can differ.

Today in numbers

Facts from the sources named, side by side. No opinions: make up your own mind.

Big tech watch

Life and death

AI for good, AI for bad

A recent AI story of each kind from the news, so you see both sides.

Headlines from The Guardian and Google News, sorted into good and bad by AI, so check the full story. See every story we've logged.

Learn how AI can help in your everyday life, from your local experts at Maverick Digital →

Grog watch

Beer, wine, spirits, cider: the price at local bottle shops, posted by the shops themselves. Search for anything, or filter by type. Local only, so your money stays in town.

Cheapest In between Dearest

Source: prices posted by local shops, with the date they posted. Shown for 30 days. We don't check the big chains: local only. Please drink responsibly.

Banks and the RBA

Home loan rates at the big four, and how quickly each passed on the Reserve Bank's (RBA) rate changes. Numbers only.

Cash rate: 4.60% since 29 Sept 2026

How fast they passed on RBA changes

Days from the RBA's decision to the date the bank's new variable rate took effect, for the 7 RBA moves since February 2025.

Bellingen tide times & fishing

Loading…

Tide times are modelled estimates. Not for navigation; check the Bureau of Meteorology before boating.

What's biting in October

• Snapper peak
• Pearl perch
• Tailor, whiting & flathead

Seasons: Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development GoFishing guide (Coffs Coast) and Coffs Coast tourism.

Where to fish within 20 km

• Urunga Boardwalk (breakwall end) Breakwall
  Known for: mulloway, bream, luderick
  Directions
• Lido breakwall, Urunga Breakwall
  Known for: bream, luderick
  Directions
• Kalang River rock wall Breakwall
  Known for: bream, luderick
  Directions
• Newry Island bridge (Kalang River) Estuary
  Known for: flathead, bream, mulloway, mangrove jack
  Directions
• Hungry Head Rocks
  Known for: bream, snapper, whiting
  Rock fishing: watch the swell
  Directions
• Wenonah Headland Rocks
  Known for: bream, snapper, drummer, tailor, mulloway
  Dirt road can wash out
  Directions
• North Beach, Mylestom Beach
  Known for: bream, tailor, mulloway, whiting
  4WD permit needed
  Directions
• Bellinger River River
  Known for: sand whiting, luderick, mulloway; Aussie bass upstream
  Bass and estuary perch: catch and release only, May to August
  Directions

No listed shore spots within 20 km of you.

Know your 2454

The handy stuff, all in one place. Every item is sourced and shown as the source has it. We don’t edit it. We tell you where it’s from and how well the owner keeps it up to date.

Bellingen in numbers

Figures for the whole Bellingen Shire Council area, from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics): population is the ABS estimate for 30 June 2025; ages, incomes, rent and households are from the 2021 Census. Shown as the ABS publishes them.

Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

Renting

Looking for a place in Bellingen? Every rental site, already searched for you.

• Rentals in Bellingen on realestate.com.au: Australia's biggest property site.
• Rentals in Bellingen on Domain: The other big one.
• Rentals in Bellingen on Rent.com.au: Rentals only, with a free renter résumé to send agents.
• Rentals in Bellingen on Homely: Rentals plus honest local reviews of each street.

Every rental site, your rights and bond help →

Jobs

Looking for work in Bellingen? Every job site, already searched for you.

• Jobs in Bellingen on SEEK: Australia's biggest job site.
• Jobs in Bellingen on Indeed: Pulls jobs from employers' own websites too.
• Jobs in Bellingen on Jora: Searches lots of job sites at once.
• Jobs in Bellingen on LinkedIn: Professional and office roles.

Every job site, plus council, harvest and local employers →

Local radio

Community radio from around the shire, run by locals, mostly volunteers. Tune in or listen live online.

• ☆2BBB (2 Triple B) 107.3 FM (93.3 FM Dorrigo), Bellingen. Listen live

Tap ☆ to make a station yours: it sits at the top of your page, one tap to listen.

Source: Community Broadcasting Association of Australia list of community stations and each station's own website. Missed a local station? Tell us.

Bellingen Council watch

Keeping an eye on Bellingen Shire Council, with every item linked to its source.

Meeting dates are on the council's meetings page.

Is council doing what it said?

Every three months Bellingen Shire Council reports on its own plan. We'll show its latest report here, in its own words. For now: council's progress reports.

Have your say or make a complaint

• Report a problem or make a request: Bellingen Shire Council on 02 6655 7300 or their website.
• Not happy with how council handled it? NSW Ombudsman.
• Concerns about a councillor's conduct: Office of Local Government.
• Suspect corruption: NSW ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption).
• Have your say at a meeting: ask the council about speaking at public forum before the next meeting.

🏅 Mini Maverick Award

Maverick Digital encourages digital safety for kids. Every Kid Zone game is designed to help with that: a safe place where kids can play and mums and dads can feel safe.

Each month, the top three kids on the Kid Zone leaderboards win the Mini Maverick Award, for proving they’re little mini Mavericks:

• 🥇 $25 first place
• 🥈 $15 second place
• 🥉 $10 third place

📍 Spent at a local Bellingen business. No multinationals, no chains, no fast food.

Only a winner’s first name is ever shown, with their parent or carer’s OK.

Play in Kid Zone → · Local businesses: be a place winners spend it

🌳 Get outside this weekend

Things for kids and families to do outdoors, free or under $50 a kid. This weekend: Sat, 24 Oct and Sun, 25 Oct.

No kids' events listed for this weekend yet. Running one? Add it free and tick "Good for kids".

Always-good local favourites

• Bellingen markets Free entry
  Local food, crafts and music. Check dates before you go.
• Dorrigo Rainforest Centre & Skywalk Free
  Walk out over the World Heritage rainforest canopy.
• Urunga boardwalk Free
  Walk out to where the rivers meet the sea.
• Dangar Falls Free
  Short walk to the falls just outside Dorrigo.

Outdoor and affordable, picked by locals. Check times and prices before you go · Suggest one

Trails, World Heritage and only here

The big outdoor reasons to live in, or visit, Bellingen and the shire.

Sport & field closures

Flights at Coffs Harbour Airport

Arriving

• 10:05am QF2102 from Sydney Delayed 14 min
• 12:10pm QF1298 from Melbourne On time
• 1:10pm FC257 from Canberra On time
• 1:25pm QF2104 from Sydney On time
• 3:05pm FC8154 from Armidale On time
• 3:55pm ZL6436 from Sydney On time
• 4:20pm QF2106 from Sydney On time
• 6:35pm FC551 from Brisbane On time

Departing

• 10:35am QF2103 to Sydney Delayed 20 min
• 12:50pm QF1299 to Melbourne On time
• 1:40pm FC258 to Canberra On time
• 1:50pm QF2105 to Sydney On time
• 3:30pm FC8154 to Brisbane On time
• 4:20pm ZL6437 to Sydney On time
• 4:45pm QF2107 to Sydney On time

Source: Coffs Harbour Airport live board, updated Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am. Check with your airline before you head out.

Someone flying in?

Pop in their flight number and we'll send an alert to this phone if it's delayed, when it lands and which carousel the bags are on.

Holidays

Next NSW public holidays

• Fri, 25 Dec: Christmas Day in 61 days
• Mon, 28 Dec: Boxing Day in 64 days
• Fri, 1 Jan: New Year's Day in 68 days
• Tue, 26 Jan: Australia Day in 93 days

Source: Nager.Date public holidays. Updated Sat, 24 Oct, 7:00 pm.

In the sky, next 14 days

Asteroids passing by

• Sat, 31 Oct: 2025 UK9, about the size of a car (roughly 3 to 6 m), passes closer than the Moon (314,648 km away) at 7.8 km a second in 6 days
• Tue, 27 Oct: 2026 TB94, about the size of a bus (roughly 19 to 44 m), passes 5.1 times as far away as the Moon at 11.6 km a second in 2 days
• Sun, 25 Oct: 2026 UE, about the size of a bus (roughly 18 to 41 m), passes 5.2 times as far away as the Moon at 15.9 km a second today
• Wed, 4 Nov: 2021 VC4, about the size of a bus (roughly 11 to 25 m), passes 6.0 times as far away as the Moon at 11.2 km a second in 10 days

Source: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 8:00 am. None of these will hit Earth. Most are too faint to see without a big telescope

Next school holidays

• Summer school holidays: Fri, 18 Dec to Wed, 27 Jan in 54 days
• Autumn school holidays: Mon, 12 Apr to Fri, 23 Apr in 169 days

Public schools in the Bellingen Shire. Source: NSW Department of Education · Private schools may differ

🧩 Crossword

Today’s Bello crossword in three levels: 🟢 Easy, 🟡 Medium and 🔴 Hard. Sign in free to keep your streak and best times. Play today’s →

✨ Horoscopes

Your stars for Sunday 25 October. Full moon tonight-ish: big feelings, big fun. This is the Year of the Fire Horse 🐎.

♈ Aries (21 Mar–19 Apr)♉ Taurus (20 Apr–20 May)♊ Gemini (21 May–20 Jun)♋ Cancer (21 Jun–22 Jul)♌ Leo (23 Jul–22 Aug)♍ Virgo (23 Aug–22 Sep)♎ Libra (23 Sep–22 Oct)♏ Scorpio (23 Oct–21 Nov)♐ Sagittarius (22 Nov–21 Dec)♑ Capricorn (22 Dec–19 Jan)♒ Aquarius (20 Jan–18 Feb)♓ Pisces (19 Feb–20 Mar)

🎂 Add your birthday and we'll set your Western and Vedic signs: Day12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Save

Bellingen beaches, surf & surf cams

Surf cams

Coastalwatch charges for its live surf cam feed, so we can’t show it here. Nobody pays to be on this site, and we don’t pay to show other people’s paid content either. Have a look on their site: Coastalwatch.

Swim between the red and yellow flags. Patrol times and beach-by-beach info: Beachsafe.

Source: Open-Meteo (modelled, updated hourly). Not for navigation. Which swell and wind suit each beach: surf-forecast.com break guides; patrols from council.