Bellingen is a small town (pop 3,038)[1] on
Waterfall Way on the Mid North Coast of New
South Wales, Australia. Bellingen is
approximately halfway between the major
Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane.
It is the seat of Bellingen Shire and has a
mixture of valley, plateau and coastal
environments. Bellingen has a strong affinity
with the arts and is home to numerous festivals:
the popular Global Carnival (often known
simply as " The Global"), the Bellingen Jazz and
Blues Festival, Camp Creative, the Bellingen
Music Festival (classical music) and the
Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, held for
the first time in 2011. The first and original
festival, an annual event, was the Azalea
Festival, which included a procession of floats,
the local brass band and pipeband, and various
community organisations marching down
Hyde Street to the cheers and applause of the
spectators.

Bellingen also hosts the twice yearly Plant Fairs
as a fundraiser for the Bellingen Environment
Centre. These fairs attract many thousand
visitors to the town and the 70+ stall-holders
provide information and sell bushland-friendly
Australian native, food-bearing and landscape
plants and heirloom seeds, garden equipment,
furniture and supplies to provide local food,
habitat for native birds and animals, and
enhance the natural beauty of the
landscape.

Tourism has been encouraged in recent years
by the cafe, market, festival and motorcycling
culture.
More recently, there has been an annual meet
for Harley Davidson enthusiasts riding from
Queensland and regional NSW. This annual
meet has been organised by a local
motorcycling enthusiast which sees many
riders converging at the Diggers Tavern for
accommodation and then riding the many
scenic roads in the region. 2012 sees riders
from three states meet for the first time with
accommodation needs overflowing to the
Federal Hotel.