Pronunciation: Bell–at–a
Kamilaroi Meaning: Home of the Belar Trees
Bellata, located 42km north of Narrabri on the Newell Highway, is a rich agricultural region known for its natural (minerals, such as petrified and opalised wood and agate) and agricultural (produces what is considered some of best Australia’s ‘prime hard’ wheat) treasures. Bellata railway station is still operational and is serviced by a two-way daily Explorer between Moree and Sydney.
Bellata has a Road House, a police station with holding cell, primary school, nine-hole sand green golf course and Golf Club, tennis courts, Anglican and Catholic churches, a memorial hall where movies were once shown, and several community groups.
History
Woolabra Post Office opened on 1 September 1899 and was renamed Bellata in 1909.
A turn of the century, two storey colonial style hotel, the Nandewar Inn Hotel constructed in 1902 was a well-loved local landmark until it was destroyed by fire in April 2006.
Once a thriving rural centre, Bellata, in the early to mid-20th Century, boasted a Post Office, two General Stores, two Stock and Station Agencies, two Garages, a Café, a Telephone Exchange, a fully operational railway station with a Station Master and a Doctor.
FAST FACT
In the late 1800s when money was in short supply inland, Bellata, originally known as Woolabra, produced their own! The Woolabra one pound note was legal tender throughout NSW.