THE BELLINGER RIVER AND THE GREAT KOALA NATIONAL PARK
I am surprised that someone who has lived here since the 1960s does not know the sad history of the Bellinger River. The Bellinger Valley has always been a very flood prone valley & the big floods will come again. The Gumbaynggirr people who originally lived here could always move quickly to high safe ground.
When the British invasion began in 1841 it was a heavily wooded valley with large trees growing right to the river banks, which allowed the river to run deep & clean as the trees slowed down the flood water on the banks.
But the British found ‘the finest cedar and rosewood ever seen’ and very extensive logging began. The riverbanks were soon cleared of trees and were used for crops and cattle. From then on the floods would be dangerous to the river and the people. Even so, it takes some time to kill a river. Large ships could once travel up the river to Bellingen – originally called Boat Harbour. The Gumbaynggirr people were hunted and driven off their land as it was fenced. Cats, dogs & foxes killed the quolls, koalas, kangaroos and wallabies. The logging continued and the weeds arrived – lantana, madeira vine, groundsel etc etc.The cattle with their hard hoofs stayed on the riverbanks and the banks collapsed into the river and the floods washed the banks away. In the middle of the 20thC the river was extensively mined for gravel until someone had, at last, the sense to stop it.
The Great Koala National Park is a wonderful initiative. Just 100 years too late for this valley.
Jann Simmonds
Bellingen.
Historical Courthouse
I am writing as a long-time resident of Bellingen Shire to express my strong support for the preservation and restoration of our historic courthouse. This building is not only a significant architectural and civic landmark, but it is also a living classroom, a cultural touchstone, and a vital part of our town’s identity.
Some years ago, before the courthouse closed its doors, I took a Year 8 English class on a local history exploration of the Bellingen CBD. The task was to use historical sources as inspiration for a creative writing project. We began at the town library, where students learned to use the microfiche to uncover stories from old editions of The Courier Sun. From there, we visited the Historical Society Museum, where students eagerly searched the archives before gravitating toward two buildings in particular: the Hammond and Wheatley building and the Courthouse.
We spent the rest of the day at the Courthouse, where Mark Holden generously gave us a tour. He brought the building to life, explaining its unique acoustic design—how wires once stretched across the ceiling so the presiding judge could hear every word spoken, and how the witness stand was angled toward the judge’s ear to ensure clarity. The students took turns perching themselves on it. He even brought out two enormous ledgers filled with records of trials and deaths, including many drownings and a few chilling murder cases. These stories captivated the students, some of whom later used them as the basis for a class play. That day, the courthouse wasn’t just a building, it was a portal into our town’s past and a spark for young imaginations.
The work of the late John R. Lean in “The First Hundred Years of Settlement of the Upper Bellinger River “ further reminds us of the richness and complexity of our local history. His research, replete with maps and images, honours the hardships and resilience of the valley’s early settlers. It’s a powerful reminder that progress is not one-directional. The original Thora Hall once stood behind the Thora Store, and several thousand people lived up at Brinerville. There were three schools and several post offices along Darkwood Road—signs of a thriving, dynamic community that deserves to be remembered and celebrated, even when it is no longer there.
I understand the financial challenges the council faces, and I appreciate the mayor’s commitment to working with the community to explore partnerships and philanthropic support. I urge the council to continue pursuing these avenues and to resist the temptation to trigger the state’s divestment of this asset. Once lost, it cannot be retrieved.
The courthouse has the potential to become a vibrant cultural and community hub—one that honours our past while serving future generations. Let’s not allow short-term constraints to erase long-term value. Let’s preserve this building not just for what it was, but for what it still can be.
Brigitte Williams
Cats in Bellingen
I read the article “Cats debate at Council meeting” and wish to comment. Bellingen is not a safe place for cats. If you watch the Facebook Community page 1-3 cats “disappear” per month. When this happened to my desexed, immunised, cat Viking last year and I put a lost post up. An aggressive man said he wanted to kill all domestic cats. Viking was inside with us at 2.30 p.m. Seen in the park opposite later and by 5 p.m. never seen again. There was a worse spin off though. His wife a Siberian Tree Cat who was completely an indoor cat cried for him for 9 days, then ran out the front door and across Oak Street where a woman speeding @ 70 km past Bruno’s struck and killed this precious white angel Mishka. Cats a not the issue, people are. Responsible pet ownership of a cat or dog is to be supported. My dog and I have still not recovered from our grief. There are many off lead dogs that represent hazards. Please don’t vilify any living creature. Animal Lover.
Susan Mclennan
Aspiration and Incentive A Lost Cause
I cracked up on hearing our federal treasurer claiming we as a government are promoting aspiration, when in fact they are doing the absolute reverse by promoting disincentive. Only a fool to-day would aspire to do well, work hard and save to be independent in their latter years and not rely on government assistance to feel let down. With the government currently lining up self funded retirees to balance their books, those that have saved will see their life savings gobbled up. Home care for the aged now high on the agenda. The cost for pensioners 5% via government subsidies, if self funded 80%. The clue stop working stay fit and don’t grow old.
Now in my eighties, having lived through a wonderful period, but in the more recent to see the collapsing of the foundations of a wonderful society put together by our forefathers via hard work self sacrifice and comradeship is distressing. Our younger generation taught to be ashamed of what was done to this country via our pioneers to create what they lap up and take for granted to-day.
Via the grapevine I understand a homeless man asleep in his car near midnight, was attacked and assaulted, his car every glass panel smashed and his belongings destroyed. Yes this occurred in Bellingen, supposedly by a group of kids or young teenagers. A shocking event but having many times, commented on the behaviour of some of our young people, never been disciplined at home or at school no respect for the law or any thing. A smack on the bum by Mum or Dad, now child assault, not to mention a school teacher trying to discipline an unruly brat. At home instead of the strap or stick, eat your cabbage or no sweets can be a winner. Sound advise, punishment of some kind for misbehaviour, but a pat on the back for good behaviour. The price the community is already paying and will only increase via the breakdown of the family unit. Already reported a marriage on average last only 14 years (having just completed 60, god help my poor wife). Early child care now the norm with many kids even as young as one, missing out on what was once the norm, an upbringing with Mum and Dad, now out in the wilderness with their best mate being their phone.
Finally on Zero emissions by 2050, an interesting observation is that wind towers installed to-day plus solar panels will have outlived their lifespan by 2050 not to mention all those electric car batteries, even home batteries, many will also have expired within 25 years. Don’t try and imagine the cost all over again, but where will all the discarded, finish up. Indeed an interesting observation but time will provide the answer.
Darcy Browning 0266558539