Byron Bay Culture

People

The traditional inhabitants of the Byron region and beyond were the indigenous Bunjalong peoples. The Arakwal, one of the main population clusters, who shared the same language, lived around what is now known as the Byron Shire but the area was also considered the common meeting ground of another of the northern clans, the Minjangbal. The first European settlers took advantage of the indigenous peoples' labour and bush skills and, as elsewhere, disease and carnage eradicated the liberty if not lives of large numbers. An Aboriginal Reserve was established in the area in the late 1800s but revoked in 1916 and their land was sold to farmers with scant regard to the original owners. Today, sacred sites throughout the area are honoured. The Arakwal people play a significant part in decision making and take an active role in the management of local resources like Cape Byron .

Today, a diverse mix of alternative, traditionalist and transient people call the Byron Shire their home. Some urban refugees flee the concrete jungles and come to Byron to cultivate a new and often alternative lifestyle. Long established farming communities and emigrants from other rural areas also make up the population. Hundreds of travellers enjoy the bustling streets of central Byron or retreat to the hills for a holiday with a difference.

The last Australian Census recorded 30,000 permanent residents in the Byron Shire. While no accurate and up-to-date figure will be available until the results of the 2001 Census are released in 2002, local building development applications and competition for long term rentals suggest the number has already swelled considerably. While a thirty percent increase on the 1996 population has been predicted over the next 20 years, it is a contentious forecast. However, a settlement strategy has been developed that seeks to contain the population in order to effectively manage the diversity of the area's ecosystem.

In the late 1880s, the first European settlers sat on tree stumps around what is now known as Hayter's Hill and debated local matters. Political involvement and community debate quickly emerged as one of the area's significant traditions. When the Local Government Act was passed in 1906, the government appointed a provisional Council until the first elections later that year. Two years later, Mullumbimby became a separate municipality until it was forced to amalgamate in 1980. Today, the Shire's Council Chambers are located in Mullum but bi-lateral battles persist as those whose interests lie in different pockets of the Shire seek to reach compromise or accomplish conquests.

New arrivals to Australia were lured to the Byron area by the red cedar that grew in abundance in the area. They worked their way up the river systems and through what was known as the 'Big Scrub'. When the land was cleared, the first European settlers established crops of sugar cane, corn, bananas, pineapples, potatoes and other vegetable crops. The first shop to open was a butcher's. Over the past 100 years, Byron has hosted a range of industries that have momentarily thrived. Major shipping ports were established around the 1320-foot jetty at the end of Jonson Street and at the mouth of the Brunswick River . The local dairy operation, including a major butter company, emerged as the foundation of a major national industry. The whaling operation in the late 1950s and early 1960s and meatworks also attracted investment in the region. Today, the jetty, whaling station and meatworks are gone and the Shire is now home to many who are shaping the 21 st century's so-called 'creative industries' - the visual and performing arts, film and media, organic primary producers and, of course, tourism. With advances in telecommunications, more and more people come to Byron to operate as virtual commuters. It's a working experiment that is keeping the economic heartbeat of this part of regional Australia ticking.

Mind, body and soul

Byron is well known as a physical hub for spiritual guides and alternative healing and for tolerance towards different religions and lifestyles. There's hooroos for gurus with psychics and astrologists. Yoga, Pilates and tai chi for the holistic mind and body journey. Choose from day spas, crystals, body care, massage therapy, naturopathy, homeopathy and aromatherapy for relaxation and healing. There are also strong communities of both major and minority mainstream religions and dedicated devotees to the more eclectic spiritual sects. Even though there are fewer people per square kilometre dedicated to the dollar and committed to consumer culture, there is something for everyone.

With more professional artists per head of population than anywhere else in Australia , the Byron Shire boasts an active arts community and is at the forefront in developing projects in regional Australia to integrate the arts into the economic and community life of a region. As well as being home to some of Australia 's leading festivals, there is a plethora of galleries and performances to enjoy year-round. You can meet the region's best artists at work in their studios or roll up your sleeves and get creative yourself. The area is also an epicurean heaven with cosmopolitan eateries and convenient cafes. You won't find the global fast food giants but almost every other taste can be catered for by an assortment of locally grown organic producers and fine dining establishments. Film buffs can enjoy a cinema experience with a difference and music fans can choose from a number of live music and dance venues.

The two earliest sports in Byron Bay were horseracing and athletics. A number of other recreational activities, which could be loosely labelled sports, were organised and run in conjunction with hotels. Today, there is an excellent range of sporting facilities in the area. Adventure sports include skydiving, hang-gliding and rock climbing. There are fields for rugby, football, soccer, cricket and bowls and courts for tennis and other ball sports. And of course, the region's environment provides some of the most outstanding sporting venues in the world for more organic physical activities like surfing and bushwalking. Its somewhat rare north-facing beach provides protection from the worst of the southerly swells while the caldera ring of peaked mountains provides a stunning backdrop for paddlers and ramblers.

Environment

The surrounding towns of Lismore, Casino and Ballina were established earlier than Byron, which remained an area of wilderness known as the Big Scrub during the first few decades of European settlement. But the cedar cutters eventually went wherever the big red tree grew and cut tracks from the rivers, through the scrub and along the ranges. When legislation was passed that enabled anyone to select a block of Crown land at one pound per acre, the first European land owners, known as 'selectors', moved into the area. Within the space of only a few weeks in 1881, eight selectors had laid claim to the land around Byron. And, as local historical documenter Maurice Ryan says, 'the work of nature over thousand of years was about to be undone by the selectors axe'. Land continues to be cleared in the Byron Shire today but the wholesale destruction of bush to make way for new towns in one swoop, like Ocean Shores to the north of Brunswick Heads, has been reigned in and nature is starting to fight back.

Balancing the demands of economic growth and economic sustainability has long been a consideration in the Byron region and while some specific decisions have proved contentious, the local people generally share a common 'clean and green' vision for the area. After years of waste treatment calamities, a more recent moratorium on sewerage connections has paced building development while tour operators have been encourage to encourage respect for the environment among tourists drawn to the area because of its natural assets and green culture.

In a bid for greater efficiency, cedar cutters dragged their logs to a convenient spot on the mountain ridges and dropped them over the precipice to the land below. They were then hauled by bullocks to the ships waiting on the coastal beaches. This practice is remembered in the names of several country roads in the region today, including Coopers Shoot, Macleods Shoot and Skinners Shoot.

Sadly, while regularly serenaded by frogs, most people only see Australia's indigenous animals like the kangaroo, wallaby and wombat as road kill in the Byron Shire although bushy turkeys are conspicuous and tame at tourist sites. Yet the area remains home to an incredibly diverse eco-system of flora and fauna. Bird life is bountiful, with lorikeets and kookaburras, waterbirds like the pelican and the endangered ground parrot or Pezoporus wallicus , only a handful of the hundred species that soar the skies. Turning to the sea, Byron is a famous venue for whale and dolphin watching. The area around Julian Rocks is home to a diversity of other marine life. The native plants that symbolise the region - the Bangalow and pandanus palm only two - carpet the rolling hills in lush green.

Getting around

The new Pacific Highway that is carving its way through the mountains and valleys has gradually transformed the landscape in Byron. As seaside villages and towns get by-passed, the community vibe evolves with the transforming traffic flow. When the new highway opens, almost in its entirety, in 2002 and trip times from southeast Queensland accelerate, getting to and from Byron will be faster and safer but not everyone welcomes the world getting smaller. While people wander like ants in central Byron, few of the major roads are pedestrian-friendly. The motor vehicle, unfortunately still an enemy of the environment in most ways, remains the paramount mode of transport if you want to see the best the Shire has to offer. Turn off the beaten track and its relentless stream of traffic onto peaceful country roads to explore the region. Drive winding trails through hills, dip across causeways and cross ridges affording unparalled views of the hinterland stretching across to the coast.

A survey of the proposed railway route between Lismore and Murwillumbah commenced in 1880 despite claims at the time that the line would lead from 'nowhere to nowhere'. A line passing through the cane fields of Tyagarah and just west of Brunswick Heads was originally mooted, but when adversity momentarily hit the Brunswick village, the route was changed and railway stations were built only in Byron and Mullumbimby, along with a siding in Billinudgel. The line opened in 1894, the first stationmaster in Byron appointed in 1904 and the refreshment room - which remains today as a characteristic reminder of the advent of rail travel in Australia - opened four years later in 1908. Today, there has been a gradual reduction in rail services and the railway line in central Byron is now perhaps better known as a setting for nightly entertainment than it is for transport.

Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads' relatively brief flirtation with sea transport at the turn of last century conjures ghosts of an almost forgotten era but today the sea and waterways are an active setting for fishing and water sports. Apart from the most popular pastimes, surfing and swimming, locals and visitors take to the water in droves to enjoy kayaking, canoeing, sailing, diving and snorkelling. With an average of more than 250 days of sunshine every year, thousands enjoy Byron's ocean beaches, rivers and estuaries every year.

Getting connected

The Byron Shire has a vibrant, creative local media, which is rare in regional Australia . There is the community radio station, Bay FM, and two free local weekly newspapers, the Byron News and the Byron Echo . The first issue of the Byron News hit the streets in 1971 as a small eight-page tabloid with a print run of 1200 copies. Today it is owned by the region's daily newspaper proprietors, APN. The Byron Echo was founded in 1984 by the late Nicholas Shand, one of the pioneers of alternative lifestyle in the area. Today it is still independently owned and is the platform for discourse among those who want to protect the region from the pressure to conform to globalisation and big business. As well as traditional media, the region is home to many digital artists and media producers. Well-known and aspiring writers and filmmakers also flock to the area for inspiration.

Over the past few years, more people have descended on the Byron Shire to live and work, often successfully maintaining commercial links with businesses outside the region. The telecommunications infrastructure has evolved from an initial list of only eight telephone subscribers in 1909, who had one digit telephone numbers, to one that now consists of experimental wireless communications initiatives in Mullumbimby. As telecommunications continue to develop - perhaps at a pace a little too slow for some - the early pioneers of virtual consultancy and telecommuting look forward to being able to balance life and work in harmony with the region's environment.