Heartbeat Bangalow’s
free l DEC/JAN 2016 No.198 l Celebrating the Life and Times of the local Community
If you go down in the woods today... ... you’re in for a big surprise. Sam has painted the amenities block by the weir. A new beginning for a new year. Find out what else is happening for the festive season in our final fling for 2015.
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And so this is Christmas ... the time of year most adults think comes around too quickly and kids think will never get here. All of us are no doubt looking forward to the Christmas Eve carnival, followed by the big day and later, for many, the start of the summer holidays. In this issue we suggest some games to get you outdoors after those heavy festive meals. Speaking of meals, our market reporter recommends the new macadamia ice cream at the Farmers Market. We also report on community planning for Bangalow (please have your say!) and Newrybar and provide updates for long-term community projects, ie the Parklands, the
Men’s Shed and the pool. I hope you managed to survive the heat and enjoy all the fun of the Show on the weekend of 20-21 November. Our Heartbeat photographers were busily snapping away at the Show and we have lots of photos for you. Congratulations to all those involved. Heartbeat takes a break in December and returns in February for the first issue of 2016. Please keep sending in your contributions to help us ‘celebrate the life and times of the local community.’ Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. Di Martin, Editor
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DA approval for Bangalow’s pool Given the series of sweltering hot days that we’ve had, it is with joyous delight that Bangalow Pool Trust has received the news that Bangalow’s plans for a pool have been approved by Byron Shire Council. After more than 10 years of fundraising and campaigning, plans have been approved for a 25m, 8 lane swimming pool, separate shaded toddlers pool, multi-purpose recreation room, kiosk and change room facilities. The new swimming pool will be located east of the tennis courts near the Bowling Club. It has been designed as part of a pool master plan by Dominic Finlay-Jones
Architects and Lucid Metals to allow for a future expansion for a 50m pool and water slide. Bangalow community has already raised $300,000 towards making this dream a reality. For the project to go ahead, the Pool Trust needs to raise an extra $1.5 million. The DA approval means that they can now go ahead and apply for grants through Regional Development Australia and Sports and Gaming NSW. The long campaigned-for pool looks like it is almost a reality. Thanks to everyone for their hard work and generosity in bringing this project to fruition! Jo Tracey
bangalow’s heartbeat www.heartbeat.net.au PO Box 132 Bangalow NSW 2479 Editors: Dianne Martin 6687 2592 Ruth Kirby Email: editors@heartbeat. net.au Cover photo: Sam Wortelhock by Terry Bleakley
Advertising: Janelle Saunders 0422 069 861 advertising@ heartbeat.net.au Ad Production: Allie Leo Design: Niels Arup Editorial team: Judy Baker, Jenny Bird, Christina de Water, Helen Johnston, Tony Hart, Christobel Munson, Lyn Plummer, Patrick
Regnault, Benny Saunders, Brian Sundstrom, Jo Tracey, Hilary Wise Distribution: Bangalow PO, Brian Sundstrom, Peter Bradridge, Neil McKenzie Website: Joanna Wilkinson
Public Officer & Accounts: Neville Maloney
DISCLAIMER. This newsletter is published by Bangalow’s Heartbeat Incorporated PO Box 132 NSW 2479. Hon. Editors Dianne Martin, Ruth Kirby, Hon Sec/ Public Officer Neville Maloney. Membership is open to all adult residents of the 2479 postal district. The opinions expressed by individual contributors are not necessarily shared by the Editors and other members of the Association committee. While every reasonable effort is made to publish accurate information, Bangalow’s Heartbeat Inc. accepts no responsibility for statements made or opinions expressed.
BANGALOW’SBANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT HEARTBEAT
local news
BANGALOW: HAVE YOUR SAY! The shire council has recently evaluated the importance and need for a new visioning master plan for Bangalow. This has evolved from a number of DCP workshops where it became apparent that Bangalow’s existing long term vision and planning strategies may need updating or acting upon. As a result, the shire council has committed to starting work on a master plan in early 2016. This month we are enthusiastic about a community-wide initiative in which BPA has joined with the Bangalow Chamber of Commerce and the Bangalow Building
Owners and Stakeholders Alliance to participate in this process collectively and in the interests of the whole community. In the first instance we have created a questionnaire to give community members the opportunity to ‘have their say’ about Bangalow. We encourage you to participate
Bangalow have your say!
What do you think Bangalow should be like in, say, 10 years time? Here is your chance to tell us about ways that our village could be better or different. Do you have future aspirations for Bangalow? Byron Shire Council have committed to starting work on a master plan for Bangalow in early 2016. We would like to hear the views and aspirations of as many of our Bangalow community as possible and to take these to Council to inform the master plan. To create a successful master plan Council needs to understand the issues and changes the community would like to see in Bangalow.
Please take this opportunity to express your thoughts and ideas about Bangalow, whether you are a resident, business owner, property owner, worker or visitor from the next town or from far away. By giving your views below, you will be helping to paint a picture of the community’s vision for our village.
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What do you like about Bangalow?
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What changes (if any) would you like to see in Bangalow?
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The second meeting of residents of Newrybar and surrounds was held at the Newrybar Hall on 11 November. The meeting was facilitated by Jen de Greenlaw, a consultant in community development. A Newrybar business owner and long term resident, Paul Moses, opened the meeting by saying he hoped these gatherings would bring the Newrybar community together to have a say in the direction they want for the future of their village and surrounds. He said in the past residents of Newrybar knew one another, shared social events and gathered regularly in the hall and in the village. He would like to see this sense of community return. A document entitled Newrybar Community Development Action Plan,
in this important community consultation process because this is YOUR village. The form can be found on page 8 of this edition of Heartbeat and the various options for lodgement, both electronic and otherwise, are clearly outlined on the form. Tony Hart, Bangalow Progress Association and Carolyn Adams, Bangalow Chamber of Commerce
commissioned by a group of Newrybar businesses, was handed out to people attending the meeting for endorsement. After some discussion, and expression of some reservations about various suggested actions in the document, the meeting decided to consider this document a draft and accept further comments from the community. A planning consultant working for Chase Property Investments spoke about rezoning, a sewerage treatment facility, and possible subdivisions on the edge of town. A representative from Harvest Café assured the community that the intention of the document was not to support subdivisions in the area. He also reassured Residential Postcode:
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residents a plan for more car parking in the village was well on the way. Jen de Greenlaw said school numbers were down and the community needed to come together in support of the school. It was thought extensive works for the Pacific Highway upgrade adjacent to the school may have impacted on enrolments this year. Other matters discussed included social events, and forming groups to work on various aspects of the plan. There appeared to be unanimous support for maintaining the rural lifestyle, heritage village and diverse thriving businesses that characterise Newrybar. There were no representatives from Ballina Council at the meeting. Ian Peter
Please return completed forms to the boxes at the Post Office or Newsagency in Bangalow, or by email to bangalowhaveyoursay@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can have your say online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bangalow or by scanning the QR code with your smartphone.
Sponsored jointly by the Bangalow Progress Association Inc, the Bangalow Chamber of Commerce Inc, and the Bangalow Building Owners and Stakeholders Alliance.
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More power to their elbows A donation from Bangalow Farmers’ Market will help the team behind the Bangalow Men’s Shed to connect electricity to the spacious building off Deacon Street. “The $2000 is a great help towards the cost of connection and is really appreciated,” said Tony Heeson, secretary of Bangalow Lions Club, which has driven and sponsored the creation of the 28x8 shed. Much progress has been made Tony Heeson at the Shed recently in the shed’s development, with the laying down of a bitumen surface in as well as a workshop, where the blokes the new 24-vehicle car park. The next step is can weld, work with wood, or tinker with the lining of the internal walls and electrical electronics while supporting each other to connections and the Lions are asking any look after their health. The Men’s Shed is one of several local local builders, electricians, carpenters or handymen who would be willing to help groups to benefit from the generosity with this stage of the project to contact of the Bangalow Farmers’ Market, and its ‘mother’ market in Byron, including Richard Rombouts (0412 222 553). The Bangalow shed is large enough to Liberation Larder and the Northern Rivers contain a meeting room and computer room Community Foundation.
The Lions believe the shed will be operating by early New Year, and stress that it is open to all men in the Bangalow community. They would love to hear from anyone who has ideas for projects that the Shed could be involved in. Digby Hildreth and Neil McKenzie The Lions thank the following: Bangalow Catholic Church (for the land); Brian Mackney, Bob Mudge and Gary Newell from Brunswick Valley Quarry; Jeff West, B & T Sheds, Lismore; Byron Shire Council, Rocket the Concreter; John Van Der Werff and Associates, Ballina; Cape Byron Plumbing; Lyle LeSueur; Byron Hire; Hansons; Northern Rivers Hire, Goonellabah; Val Turcato; Luke Pidcock Big River Group; Northern Rivers Crane Truck Transport; Robert Buckley and Warwick Reakes; Brian Mackney’s civil engineering students from SCU.
The Art House In November The Art House at Newrybar hosted an exhibition ‘The Locals’ showcasing a group of local artists, some wellknown favourites and some others less familiar. Owner of The Art House Peter Waters says “The Art House is holiday rental, not a gallery. But, that’s the point – we wanted to help local artists and art buyers by Local exhibitors: Simon Harriott, Bernadette Trela, showing them what the art Herrmann, Tracey Knowland and Rosie Stollery looks like in a residential setting. We all ask the question when at a gatherings in Newrybar village and raise commercial gallery, “What’s this going to some money for local charities, like The look like when I take it home?” But our Buttery, by opening up the Art House for main aim is to help promote some social a couple of events a year to our friends
and neighbours. And hats off to Harvest who have donated catering to help make it work as a fun community event”. The Art House is a lovely venue for an art exhibition with great interior space, and surrounded by beautiful gardens and flowers. The opening night was attended by a collection of art lovers who happily gave a donation on Hilary entry and enjoyed browsing the range of art on show while sampling some wonderful Harvest food. The good news is that Peter intends to occasionally hold similar exhibitions to promote art and artists. Lyn Plummer
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BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT
local talent The Block transformed Photo by Judy Baker
Sam Wortelhock Photo by Terry Bleakley
Dreams coming true Never ever did I dream that I would see people lining up in Bangalow Parklands to take photos of themselves outside the toilet block. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, since the very first moments that the Ecolour paint was creatively applied to the elderly Council amenities block and images began to reveal themselves through dreams-interpreter, Samantha Wortelhock, this has, indeed, been happening. Part of the grant obtained by the Bangalow Parklands team from the government’s Community Building Partnership program to build a bandstand included an amount for a mural. With diverse experience all over Australia translating the wishes of schools, councils, individuals and community groups into delightful images, Sam was the ideal candidate. Three years ago, Sam was invited to join other artists working on the Treasures of the Tweed mural along the Tweed River levee wall in Murwillumbah. Now her public murals are in huge demand. (See www. breakawayart.com.au). A great deal of her time, Sam flies to work at remote Aboriginal communities. This week, she’s back in WA where she works for the Wirrpanda Foundation mainly in the Pilbara. Last week she was at Banora Point Public School. Three years ago, over a six-month period, she worked in Aurukun, Cape York, transforming an extremely uninviting airport building in the centre of a huge wetlands into a positive, welcoming celebration of the totemic birds native to that place. As a child in the UK, Samantha was very aware of her dreams which often inspire her painting. After moving to Australia, she exhibited and sold her ‘environmental DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016
educational art’ through a gallery in Uluru, then in Sydney through galleries in Woollahra and the QVB. For many years, she volunteered to work with children in schools, starting with Coorabell School close to her home. She’s lived in the Byron Shire since 1990 with her sons Seth,16, and Reuben, 13. Sam’s works are described as motivational, at times, ‘purely instinctive’. Once completed, she describes them as “a visual statement, constantly reinforcing the positive. It may be pride in culture or education. The work turns places into a visual panorama. “Every work starts with circles, sitting with the people it’s to be for. What I love about the public art work is it’s not about me or my wishes, which is liberating. It’s very much service to that community and the job the mural has to do.” Day by day, as the painting develops at a school, the children watch as every stroke is made, fascinated to see what’s happening, watching the story unfold. Back in Bangalow Parklands, the first south-facing segment of the mural was completed in four days. Every day all the regular park-goers and passers-by - from road workers on their tea break and dogwalkers, to bus-loads of senior citizens on day trips and mums and kids on their way to the playground – were all absorbed and delighted to see the transformation happening before their eyes. Once complete, it will wrap around the entire building. Her brief was to “pay homage to our origins, environment and community.” Already it’s showing Bangalow in the time of the Big Scrub, complete with the native birds and animals of the time.
(And yes, apparently there really were thylacines around here 2,000 years ago!) Emerging Waterfront While this edition of Bangalow’s Heartbeat was in production, the volunteer Bangalow Parklands team was preparing for the arrival of the components of The Waterfront. This is an 8m diameter bandstand to be constructed overlooking Byron Creek in the park next to Deacon and Ashton Streets, funded through a grant from the NSW Department of Family and Community Services’ Community Building Partnership program. Hopefully the building will be completed before Christmas but with the uncertain weather, an official opening launch will not happen until the New Year. “The Waterfront will become a shelter from the rain, a performance space, a small-scale live music venue, a creek-side bandstand, a kids’ party venue - whatever’s needed at that moment,” announced Lynn Smith, from the Bangalow Parklands team. Lynn grew up in a house adjoining the park and her father, Bruce Beckinsale, taught many hundreds of children to swim in the former creek swimming hole. “Essentially, what’s been happening around the Parklands is a resurrection of the dormant community spirit which created this public space in the 1920s,” she added. “In its heyday in the 20th century, this was a much-loved place where the community gathered for celebrations and social events, ranging from swimming carnivals to dances, fundraisers and musical events. It’s already coming back to life with the creation of the wetlands, the rock circles and now the mural on the amenities block. Now, once again this place will become a living heart of that community life.” Christobel Munson 5
community noticeboard At the Bowlo Bangalow’s very own Rhydian Lewis will be singing Bublé hits at the family fun day at the Bowlo on Sunday, 6 December from 4pm. $2000 worth of toys will be raffled starting at 6pm and the Stockpot Kitchen will be open for business. (Also now open for Friday lunches from 11.30). Come along and join the fun. Shane Ironside
Business Women’s Networking Christmas Our celebration is Thursday, 10 December starting 5.30 pm at the Bangalow Museum and Tea Room. Tickets can be purchased from the Bangalow Business Women’s Networking’s Facebook page. 6686 8413 or 0408 304 145 Teresa Bassham
Cellar news Our second Summer Wine Tasting this year at The Farm, Byron Bay, 4.30-6.30 pm on Friday, 11 December with over 100 wines from many different regions plus extraordinary local produce prepared by Three Blue Ducks. Tickets are available at $50 or for your FREE ticket, purchase 13 bottles of wine or more in any one transaction. Limited places. There is a courtesy bus running to The Farm. Pip Vickery
Bay FM Christmas Disco Wondering where to hold your Christmas Party? Dust off
your retro flares and head on down to the Bangalow Bowlo on Saturday, 19 December from 6pm to midnight for Bay FM’s legendary Christmas Discotheque Boogie Fever. Six of our best DJ’s will keep you on the dance floor all night with pure disco and funk hits. BOOK NOW online at bayfm.org or call the station on 6680 7999 for tix.
Bangalow Garden Club. At the recent AGM Margaret Bruce and Robyn Armstrong were elected Co-Presidents, Denise Willis, Secretary and Kath Amor, Treasurer. Outgoing President Wendy Hearne and Secretary Gwen Weir were thanked for their outstanding service to the club. There are 24 more elected members on the committee of this large and active club and they are listed on the web site www.bangalowgardenclub.com Helen Johnston
CWA news The new executive for 2016 is Di Campbell (president), Eleanor McCloskey (treasurer) and Barbara Sayers (secretary). The country of study is Mongolia, and fundraising will continue to support local volunteer groups as well as regional and national groups and international relief work. Members meet Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am - 2pm; an evening group
Red Cross Report It’s been a big year for the Bangalow branch. Our president of many years, Dot Gill, resigned and Del Smith, who was in the Byron branch until we amalgamated, very graciously agreed to take on the position. Likewise, Carol Will stood aside as secretary, to be replaced by Liz Paks, and other office bearers have taken on new roles. Charlotte from Charlotte’s Parlour remained as Treasurer. We also held a very successful Zone conference, plus a number of fund-raising street stalls. After such a busy time it is clear to us that none of it could have so happily and productively happened – for the Red Cross projects – without the continued support of the community. For that we thank all those who donated to our appeals, our sponsors of the Zone Conference and those who supported our street stalls. Our next meeting will be held in February. We wish everyone a very happy and safe festive season, especially in these troubled times. Del Smith
Michael Stone yoga Michael has been practising daily yoga for the past 36 years.
He started Bangalow Yoga in 2000 and has been giving weekly classes ever since. His classes are accessible to all ages and levels. Contact Michael on 0406 559 696. Judy Baker
Stargazing Check out this fascinating free weekly column showing what’s in our night skies, giving some tips and touching on some interesting discoveries as well. Provided by internationally renowned Australian astronomer Dave Reneke from Australasian Science magazine.www.davidreneke. com/about-dave-reneke/
Next month: Australia Day Celebrations Bangalow will be celebrating Australia Day, Tuesday, January 26, 2016 from 4-7pm, in the Museum and Tearoom grounds, on the corner of Deacon & Ashton Streets. We’ll be serving a very Australian meal: lamb spit or vegetable pie with salads, damper and fresh fruit salad or apple slice with ice cream for dessert. Cost is $25 per head. There’s a free sausage sizzle for kids, with fruit juice, fruit kebabs and ice cream plus games, face painting and music. We’ll also be celebrating our 21st birthday with a huge lamington cake. We re-open Tuesday 18 January. Wendy Grissell, 6687 2183 or bangalow historical@bigpond.com
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BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT7
festive frivolities
Guess who’s coming to town? (Hint, he sees you when you’re sleeping.) Get your jingle on and head down to this year ’s Christmas Eve Carnival in the main street of Bangalow. The food and festivities will commence at 5pm. There will be plenty of entertainment
to enthral and excite kids and adults alike, with rides, jumping castles, fairground fun at the school, circus performers, balloon artists, and the amazing Rhydian Lewis to play you some smooth Christmas music, plus so much more. See you all there!
Please note: Byron St will be closed from 4pm, however Deacon St will become two-way, so please remember to avoid parking in both Deacon and Byron Streets in the afternoon of 24 December. Last year a couple of cars had to be towed. Can business owners also please advise your customers of the road closure, particularly after midday. There will be parking available at the showgrounds on the day via Market St. Thank you for your help! Pip Vickery
Outdoor Games for Summer Holidays It’s summer. For many of us, lots of family, visitors and outdoor activities. Games sit high on my priority list. Here are a couple which are fun and suit all ages. Bocce There are of course several types of balls you can buy, right up to the heavy metal ones. I prefer the light, coloured plastic sets - $20 from toyshops. All ages can throw them safely and the colours make for easy scoring. They suit all settings – beaches, parks or the bush – the more varied the terrain the more random bounces and fun. I’ve even seen people in Sweden with the floating plastic balls, throwing them into lakes and kayaking out to score. While the sets come with a small plastic Jack, we use a more visible target such as a tennis ball. Two to eight people can play, singly, in pairs or teams. We play up to 10, scoring two points for closest, one for the next and an extra two points if you touch the Jack and stay closest. Klop or Finska* This Scandinavian game
exactly 50. If you overshoot, it’s back to 25! Three misses and you’re out. After each throw, the pegs are stood up where they fell – they gradually spread out and it becomes a challenge to hit just one – the one you need. Finska/Klop retails in the $60 – 80 range. I’ve seen it at Bangalow’s Our Corner Store. Toy Kingdom in Byron has them too and some other games by the Finska group e.g: Kubb, another Scandinavian game that I’ve not tried, but seems to be a mix of skittles and chess. Brian Sundstrom Bocce *Two brands of the same game. The name ‘Klop’ is said to be derived from the sound the wooden chuck mades when it collides with the pegs.
Klopping in the wild
is newer to Australia but is quickly becoming popular. It is derived from a game played by Finnish woodcutters. Twelve, numbered, wooden pegs are initially set up close together and three or four metres from the throwing line. Players throw a wooden ‘chuck’ underarm. If more than one peg is knocked down (certain early on), you score one for each peg. If only one is down you score its number (1 – 12). Players aim to get to
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local music
BANGALOW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2016 dimensions we long for are Two teenagers overheard within the moment, inside talking about computers: “Lap the moment we’re in. Not tops? That’s such a Dad thing!” outside it. We forget that generational Another way we trip change happens very quickly. So ourselves up is by inventing here’s my bold prediction: live categories, like ‘classical’ performance of classical music, and ‘popular’. It’s a common the kind we love at the Bangalow assumption that popular Music Festival, will become the means easily accessible, hottest thing when all these familiar, effortless, and fabulous kids now studying classical means the opposite. music reach their majority. It means hard work. Recorded music, including pop, These categories, these will be such a Dad thing. assumptions, are difficult to Clever devils that we are, escape. But escaping them humans have been obsessed sets us free. with capturing sound in some When Mozart, Chopin, permanent form ever since the Industrial Revolution kicked in, nearly two centuries ago. Like Jordan at the piano capturing sunbeams. Right now, we are in an astonishing phase of technical development with sound else. We talk a lot about living recording and reproduction bursting all ‘in the moment’ these days – known limits. When I first began working in and there are good reasons television, 50 years ago, the limitations we for it. So much of modern life accepted were positively crude. Now, we takes us out of the moment, routinely expect the immersive experience distracts us with avalanches of ultra high fidelity surround sound – as if of information and stimuli. it’s always been there. We assume it’s at our But it’s odd, isn’t it? We can build ourselves home fingertips, at the touch of a button. Paradoxically, live music is more precious theatres or buy big sound systems, but they are always than ever. To sit in Bangalow’s A&I Hall, witnessing echoes of ‘the real thing’. the making of music right here, right now, They can very effectively Bodhi Scott-Jones is miraculous. One moment there is the hypnotise us, deluding us ambient sound of the space, the chatter into believing we are in an actual cinema, Mendelsohn, Schubert and all the of our voices, even birdcalls impinging or a concert hall, sharing a unique moment other youngsters were composing and from the trees outside. Then, moments in time with others, friends or strangers. We performing, it was simply music. They later, the living, breathing musicians begin can walk on a beach, iPhone buds in our weren’t doing ‘classical’. Music is music. and we are lifted into another dimension. ears, and our minds can be a million miles The dimensions are infinite. And here’s the hot news: one of the Vivaldi takes us into the heavens to share away, on another planet. We are seduced by headliners at the 2016 Bangalow Music his revolutionary Four Seasons. Chopin stirs our own cleverness, our human ingenuity. Ironically, our wish to preserve, in some Festival is Ilya Konovalov, the fabulous up emotions too chaotic to indulge during our daily lives. Or Beethoven summons up permanent form, the fluid, evanescent Russian violinist who has been here twice heroic grandeur on a scale that can turn us quality of our authentic experience can before and is returning to perform the put the possibility of such experience Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto on the morning inside out. Technology can give us those same ever further from our reach. A photograph of Sunday, August 14. Something wonderful sounds, any time, anywhere. But it can’t of a sunrise, no matter how perfect it to look forward to. Watch this space for more news on your give us the experience of being present as is, will never be more than a memento. Peter Thompson, Patron the music is being made. That’s something Ancient wisdom tells us that the expanded Festival.
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19 BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT
Sacred Sounds to Feed the Soul Winner: Adult Contemporary Dolphin Award 2015 “Held in that five minute song is 35 years of experience, heart, blood, sweat and tears. And I wouldn’t change it for anything. I love my work, my music … it’s my life” Jo Kelly’s 2015 Dolphin Award winning song, Himalaya, was inspired by a selfhealing journey that the singer began in 2005, which included a visit to the sacred mountains of India in 2007. Jo had already had a long and varied musical career prior to this life changing journey, singing jazz, cabaret, pop and dance covers in Sydney but she says, her musical heart had remained untouched until she travelled to India. Studying meditation, Ayurvedic medicine and sacred music so enriched her own life after a pivotal and very painful crash and burn on the Sydney muso scene, that Jo decided to devote her life’s work to the healing powers of sacred music and healing mantras. She is now a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner, an accomplished harmonium and esraj (Indian cello) player and her music and mantras can be heard in yoga studios and meditation centres across the country via sales from her Cafe Mantra Music range of CDs. Jo formally studied Ayurveda with Dr. Ajit Singh (BAMS PCAS) and was initiated into the mantras of the Das Mahavidyas (The Ten Wisdom Goddesses) by Sri Param Eswaran. As a founding member of the Enchanted Kirtan Band, she has performed her blissful music for Byron Yoga Centre Retreats since
2007. She also leads local monthly chanting circles and has performed at Brisbane’s Yogafest and Kundalini Festivals, the Evolve Yoga & Music Festival and travels far and wide to markets and events with the intention of sharing the sounds of spirit and peace. Jo currently sings her ethereal mantras at the Rest Restore and Nourish Yoga sessions at the Byron Yoga Retreat Centre and holds private workshops for harmonium at her funky little yurt in the heart of Bangalow. She released her debut original album Letting Love In in 2007 and has since produced five Café Mantra titles. With music in her blood, Jo is still a fan of many other musical styles and influences and she is putting a heartfelt call out to other
local musicians interested in forming a Bangalow Folk Club in 2016, meeting on a monthly basis at the Molar Pavilion. What a great idea! Don’t miss Jo’s last local performance for the year at the Bangalow Farmer’s Market on Saturday, 12 December. Anyone interested in helping to make the Bangalow Folk Club idea a reality is encouraged to introduce themselves to Jo on the day or you can email her an expression of your interest from her website, cafemantramusic.com Also find out more about her fascinating musical journey and purchase her enchanting music CDs which are also available from the Post Office. Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - Lao Tzu. Benny Saunders
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showtime
another hit show!
Manbake winners Dave Wiseman and Mark Brennan with Rhydian Lewis (centre).
The 2015 Bangalow Show with the theme – 1915 The Home Front – was off to a great start on Friday, 20 November and got even better (and hotter) on the Saturday. The Show Society would like to thank all the contestants, Pavilion exhibitors, sponsors, volunteers, horses, dogs, cattle, poultry, snakes ... in fact everyone involved in putting on one of Bangalow’s most-loved annual events. The themed events and displays were once again a great hit. Congratulations to the winners and all participants. Special thanks to the Show Committee who work hard all year putting the show program and events together. Di Martin
Photos by Judy Baker and Christina de Water photography
Parade of Champions
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BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT
Ruth Ryan’s prize winning interpretation of the painting ‘The Sock Knitter’ by Grace Cossington-Smith
Little Tramps
Most successful exhibitor Produce: Byron Bay High School Showgirl Meg Mitchell
Hot to trot
Dying Swan winner Lani Sodoti
Champion lillies
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DECEMBER 2016 2015 DECEMBER/JANUARY
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in the garden
Gardens of time past: European Medieval Courtly Gardens We are very lucky that a vast amount of information has reached us regarding horticulture in the Middle Ages. The need for food drove the main part of plant selection not only in the countryside but also in towns and cities. So much so that in late 12th century Germany, damage or injury to orchards or fruit bearing vines attracted the same punishment as arson. Plant-based dye production was also of major economic importance throughout medieval society. This we will explore in the next issue. This month we are going to tour a very special garden I visited last year, Bois Orcan. Bois Orcan is situated in Brittany 20km east of the city of Rennes. It is a 14th and 15th century jewel privately restored with finesse and care for the last 23 years. The medieval courtly garden has been rebuilt in part using the original drawing found on the chimney mantle and the creative skills of Alain Richert, a specialist in walled and medieval gardens, and carefully maintained by a private contractor. Originally a modest manor from a famous military aristocratic family, in 1476 it was purchased and developed by Julien Thierry, celebrated financier and treasurer to the then wealthy independent Duchy of Brittany. Before we start let’s remember that in a medieval garden the symbolism is always present. Courtly gardens were surrounded by walls to separate 14
them from the wild nature found outside, where wolves, brigands and uncontrollable forces of nature were to be found. The mastered nature inside the wall was a representation of the Garden of Eden, where peace and order was said to reign supreme; a place of spiritual reflection but also of life and animation where domesticated animals such as the rather newly introduced peacock could be found. Let us enter the garden; we do so through the main courtyard, passing the private chapel and crossing the castle moat through a beautifully-crafted narrow wooden bridge. At the centre of the garden we find the fountain of life, an octagonal medieval stone basin from which water cascades down its side. The fountain is the middle of a structure composed of timber posts supporting a cupola made of light metal with an opening, the Opulus, above the well. This is the symbol of the Holy Spirit as, in the words of Hildegard von Bingen, “Light must penetrate water as the Soul penetrates the Body”. The water from the fountain flows down a four-tiered stone canal and ends in an octagonal pool situated in a sunken garden, the courtyard of love, where one was unseen from the castle windows and where courtly love, songs and the pursuit of fine arts were encouraged. This sunken garden is surrounded by a rosemary hedge reputed to invigorate the mind, protect from diseases
and preserve beauty. The plants found in medieval courtly gardens were not decorative but placed there for their symbolic, edible or medicinal values. They included fruit trees such as apples, pears and plums espaliered on the walls. Cherry trees were called the fruit of paradise, making them an essential tree in the design of the garden. Hawthorns (Crataegus) had few associations; they were used to mark boundaries and said to have been used to make the crown of thorn. Roses had various symbolisms, the red rose was the symbol of the blood of Christ and the martyrs and the white rose associated with the Virgin Mary and often planted near running water. Other plants used in medieval courtly gardens were rosemary, buxus, golden marjoram, Verbena hastata, daylilies and climbers such as Clematis vitalba, Aristolochia, honeysuckle and the sophora tree. All had either religious meaning or healing properties. Bois Orcan is one of the very few successful medieval style gardens in Europe and well worth visiting. The castle itself is stunning with the oldest original medieval sliding door known to exist. Julien Thierry was not just a very wealthy man, he was a well travelled aesthete at the forefront of what was the newly emerging renaissance. For further reading go to facebook.com/ Interactive.landscapes where I have posted my reference sources. Patrick Regnalt, Registered Horticulturist MAIH BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT
Health & Wellbeing
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local action
Bangalow: Becoming an official fair trade town A move is afoot to have Bangalow accredited as a Fair Trade town with the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand. With the full support of Bangalow’s Chamber of Commerce, and a small but committed steering team driving the application process forward, it means we can promote Fair Trade as a concept to the village folk and tourists alike. And there are so many benefits for us as a village to be gained from this recognition. From here on in, stuff is about to get exciting! Look out for Fair Trade events, information and initiatives happening in our little village very, very SOON! So … what’s it all about? What does Fair Trade mean, and how does it affect you? What is Fair Trade? Fair Trade is a movement to ensure fair wages, fair work conditions, and environmental standards are upheld, and Fair Trade products allow us (the consumers) to support trade justice through our purchasing choices. At the nuts and bolts of it, Fair Trade is really about a more ethical and equitable way to do trade. It is a social movement operating under the umbrella of various Fair Trade organisations. Why Fair Trade? When you buy an accredited Fair Trade product, you can be sure that the producers (often at the mercy of ‘middlemen’) have been paid fair and proper wages for their work, are employed under fair work conditions and that the whole community is being supported in areas such as sanitation or education by a ‘Fair Trade premium’ (added to the price paid for goods). These projects are also sustainable and often organic too. Fair Trade is a way to show support for the poorest of the world by valuing their work and paying for it properly. Typical Fair Trade products include coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, honey, cotton, felt,
wine, fresh fruit, chocolate, gold and 3D printer filament … but there are so many more! What are the Ten Principles of Fair Trade? Fair Trade organisations or businesses must follow these 10 principles in their day-to-day work. Monitoring is carried out to ensure these principles are upheld by the World Fair Trade Organisation: 1. Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers 2. Transparency and accountability 3. Fair trading practices 4. Payment of a fair price 5. Ensuring no child labour and forced labour 6. Commitment to non discrimination, gender equity and women’s economic empowerment, and freedom of association 7. Ensuring good working conditions 8. Providing capacity building 9. Promoting fair trade 10. Respect for the environment. An important aspect of the Fair Trade movement is its principle of not allowing child or forced labour, ie where employment does not comply with the UN convention on the Rights of the Child and national or local laws on the employment of children. This has been of particular importance in the cocoa industry where what is effectively modern day slave labour has been widespread. Fair Trade has been around in Bangalow for many years now, not only in the annual Christmas stalls held by the Bangalow Uniting Church, but also in the form of various Fair Trade products stocked by many of our local shops, and in business and manufacturing practices of local design companies. With Bangalow becoming accredited as a Fair Trade town, we will meet requirements for shops and cafes offering Fair Trade items, and have the full
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support and backing of the Chamber of Commerce – which is awesome. We know there are plenty of people who don’t really understand what it signifies to see a Fair Trade logo on a packet of coffee, a bar of chocolate or a beautifully made blouse or piece of jewelry, and we aim to change this, and raise awareness, and do our bit for a worldwide movement doing so much good. Businesses in the 2479 postcode already stocking or producing Fair Trade products include Foodworks, Rainbows and Clover, Our Corner Store, Our Corner Kitchen, Pantry 29, Windhorse Gallery, Milton Cater Carpets, The Bangalow Newsagency, The Bangalow Cellars, Solways Tyre and Mechanical, and Miller & More. There are many more we’re learning about, more who are jumping onboard, and we look forward to share these here on our facebook page, By being part of this ethical movement, which fits in so well with the ethos of many consumers and producers in this area, we can support manufacturing overseas AND locally, as it’s important to realise that by supporting locally grown produce and locally made products, you are also supporting Fair Trade. Fair Trade in your home town! Remember, your buying power is more powerful than you realise. Make wise choices. Feel good about your choices! If you’d like to join the steering committee, call Corinne on 6629 1692 or email the Bangalow chamber at admin@bangalow. biz . Kylie Mowbray-Allen Corrections for November issue: Pages 12-13 Coffee story – Italian Diner espresso $3.80, Corner Kitchen espresso $3, Helix latte now $4. Page 17 Frisky Fairies - the photo of the Superb Blue Wren is in fact a Splendid Fairy-wren or Blue-wren. Eds
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4 Granuaille Rd Bangalow BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT
market forces
Luscious Local Nut-milk Ice Cream Have you tried the local nut-milk ice cream? Anthony Hotson, the Rainforest Farmer who sells his nuts and other rainforest products at Bangalow Farmer’s Market, has developed a delicious macadamia nut-milk ice cream. Anthony tells me he initially thought about making this four years ago, when a friend came back from the UK, where she had seen nut milk ice cream made with cashew nuts at a market and suggested we make it with macadamias. “After some experimentation
based on internet recipes, we threw all that out and started from scratch - back to basics,” Anthony said. “The formulation we settled on is really simple: our own farm-grown macadamias made by us into macadamia milk, plus coconut nectar and spices: no dairy, no refined sugar, no eggs, no gluten. We took a bit of a gamble on a machine from China but were immediately very happy with the results.” The nut-milk ice cream is sold at the farmers markets during summer. With its
simple ingredients and beautiful flavour it appeals to both children and adults. Anthony has also been experimenting with other flavours and hopes to bring some out every now and then over the Christmas and January period. Try some at the Bangalow Farmers Market, behind the pub on Saturday mornings. It’s also available at the Byron (Thursdays), New Brighton (Tuesdays) and Mullumbimby (Fridays) farmers markets if you’re out of town. Judy Baker
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DECEMBER 2015 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016
every saturday
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what I’ve been reading The long-awaited prequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Rocket Boys—the basis for the movie October Sky
Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickam
Carrying Albert Home is the story of Homer and Elsie Hickam; it’s an account of the author’s parents who in 1935, the sixth year of the Great Depression, took a long journey from Coalwood, West Virginia to Florida. Part fact, part fiction, the novel evolved from the author’s desire to retell the tall stories which his parents had told them as children. In the story Homer is a successful miner, up and coming management material, living in a coal mining company house with his young wife Elsie. It’s a lifestyle that he was born into and during the Great Depression it was not an option to consider relinquishing employment. He is content for his life to be what it is. Elsie, on the other hand, hates Coalwood; each day she gets up to battle the daily dust created by the coal trains which pass close to the house, the next day she gets up to fight it again after sending her husband to the mine to create more. After graduating from school and in order to avoid being a coalminer’s wife Elsie had caught a bus to Orlando, Florida to live with her rich Uncle Aubrey. It was there that she fell hopelessly in love with a young Buddy Ebsen who would break her heart by leaving for New York to make his fortune as an actor. Distraught and heartbroken she returned for a visit to West Virginia; not for long she promised Uncle Aubrey but, as it turned out, long enough to marry a coalminer called Homer Hickam. Buddy Ebsen sent her a wedding present, an alligator called Albert. And here is the dilemma: Homer loves Elsie, Elsie loves Albert – the classic love triangle. Two years later, after a humiliating chase around his garden without pants (stolen by Albert), Homer gives Elsie an ultimatum: ‘Me or that alligator.’ This was a very funny book and reminded me of The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared. The journey undertaken by Homer and Elsie to return Albert to Florida is full of interesting people, wacky stories, an alligator and, for no particular reason, an unnamed rooster! This is no literary masterpiece but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Carolyn Adams – Bookworms & Papermites
useful information and contact numbers AA Tues 5.30 Richard 0466 885 820 ADFAS Anni 6684 3249 Aussie Rules Bill 6687 1485 Aussie Rules Junior Greg 6687 1231 Bangalow Parklands Team Terry 6687 2525 Bangalow Markets monthly 4th Sun Jeff 6687 1911 Bangalow Bowlo Shane 6687 2741 Bridge Fri 12pm Eda 6685 1984 Cancer support 1st Wed 1-4pm Chris 6687 0004 Childcare Centre 7.45am-6pm Kerry 6687 1552 Cricket Club Anthony 0429 306 529 Co-dependents Anonymous Thurs 7pm/Sat 4pm Guy 0421 583 321 CWA 2nd Wed Di 6685 4694 Garden Club 1st Wed Wendy 0437 963 087 George the Snake Man George 0407 965 092 Historical Society/Museum/Tea Room Wendy 6687 2183 Land/RiverCare 1st Sat working bee Liz 6687 1309 Lawn Bowls, Men Wed & Sat 1pm Gerry 6687 1142 Lawn Bowls,Women Wed 9.30am Dot 6687 1246 Lions Club 2nd/4th Tues 7pm Brian 0408 899 555 Netball Club train 4.15 Thurs Rachel 6687 0402 Op Shop 10-3pm Sat 10-12 6687 2228 Parks Committee 3rd Tues 7.30pm Jan 6684 7214 Playgroup Tues 10am Sue 0421 030 438 Police Peta 6687 1404 Pony Club Kim 6687 8007 Pool Trust 3rd Wed Dominic 6687 1425 18
Poultry Club Hec 6687 1322 Progress Association Tony 6687 0607 Quilters 2nd,4th Thurs Helen 6684 1161 Red Cross monthly - 1st Fri Dell 6684 7405 Rugby Union Richard 0415 773 064 S355 C’mtee Heritage House Don 6687 1897 Scouts Tues 6.30pm Jenny 6687 2047 Show Society Karen 6687 1033 Soccer Club 2nd Mon 6pm Nick 6687 1607 Social Golf every 2nd Sun Brian 6684 7444 Sports Association 2nd Wed bi-monthly Brian 6687 1024 Sporting Field bookings Nick 6687 1607 Tennis Court Hire 6687 1803 Writers Group 1st Thurs June 6687 1004 WIRES 6628 1898 VENUES A&I Hall Station St Brian 0427 157 565 Anglican Hall Ashton St Matthew 0488 561 539 Bangalow Showgrd Moller Pavilion Karina 6687 1035 Sports/Bowling Club Byron St Shane 6687 2741 Catholic Hall Deacon St Russell 0423 089 684 Coorabell Hall Coolamon Scenic Ouida 6687 1307 Newrybar Hall Newrybar Village Tony 6687 2267 RSL Hall Station St Charlotte 6687 2828 Scout Hall Showgrounds Jenny 6687 2047 Heritage House Deacon St Wendy 6687 2183
BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT
local brain power
Philo Café moves to Bangalow On the first Friday night of every month allegiance to one or the other you will find the side verandah of Heritage l the dominance of humans as a species, House in Bangalow abuzz with people and the impact we are having on all earth’s grouped at tables to participate in the Byron ecosystems. The speaker argued that if we, Philo Café. ‘Philo’ equals philosophy, and and the planet, are to survive, we must the Café is based on the Parisian tradition of make radical changes to the way we live a café philosophique. People gather to listen and must “judge the consequences of our to an invited speaker and then consider and actions not within a familiar timeframe discuss issues associated with the topic of the evening. “The idea is to bring intellect to the community,” explains the founder James Cowan. After two years in various venues in Byron Bay, the Café has made Bangalow its permanent home. According to James, “Heritage House is perfect.” A short menu of soup, curries, desserts, tea and coffee is served throughout the evening. The format for the evenings is strictly set and moderated: a 30 minute talk The Thinker by Banksy from a visiting speaker, a 15 minute discussion amongst the audience, measured in multiples of a human lifetime, a summary from each table and a whole but in geological time” group discussion to round out the set two l the consequences, both good and bad, of atheism. Whilst acknowledging hours. Over recent months topics for discussion the challenge of abandoning the concept of God, and the benefits that religious have included: l the relationship between science and institutions offer, this speaker explores “the the arts. The speaker argued that the complications of life with a particular kind of two have been positioned in such a way skepticism and to cultivate virtues that can that we have no choice but to stake our sometimes be difficult: intellectual honesty,
DECEMBER 2016 2015 DECEMBER/JANUARY
tolerance of differences, openness to evidence and argument and an appreciation of complexity, ambiguity, and doubt” l sexuality and identity. This speaker, who grew up as a ‘sissy boy’ in Western Australia in the 1950s, explored the consequences to a developing sense of self when he discovered that he was “a pariah to the churches, a pathology to medicine, a failure along the normal developmental pathway in psychology, a criminal before the law, and an outsider within his own family” Whilst the program for 2016 is still under development, James can confirm the following. On 8 January Margot Cairnes will be discussing ‘Reframing the way we think about the future’. With 230 people signed up on the mailing list, and an average of 30 people attending each month, James believes this to be “the most successful philosophy café in Australia, certainly more successful than the one I used to attend in Sydney.” The $5 entry fee finances the costs of inviting speakers and keeps the Café selffunded. To find out more about Byron Philo Café, and to rsvp online if you decide to attend, go to the website at http://www. meetup.com/byronbayphilocafe/ Jenny Bird
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december/january diary
town talk
6
Bowlo Family Fun Day;
10 Business women’s celebration 11 Summer wine tasting 12 Jo Kelly at Farmers Market 19 Bay FM Disco 22 24 Christmas Eve street carnival 25
Christmas Day
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Bangalow market
War Veterans Memorial Ride Local veteran Dave Spiteri organised a gathering of vets on Saturday, 7 November, for a ceremony at the Bangalow RSL Hall. Most were from the Rock Valley chapter of the Veterans Motor Cycle Club and had served in the Afghanistan and Iraqi conflicts. Some veterans from the Vietnam War also attended. Nick ‘Sar Major’ Hill led the service, a fitting leader who has served as a commando in East Timor, Iraq, The Sinai and Afghanistan and back home in Australia over the past 25 years (at left front in the photo above). The veterans then took off on their bikes for a ride to Uki, Kyogle, Coraki and Rock Valley, to remember the mates they left behind in those wars. Judy Baker
January 1
New Years Day
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Margo Caines at Philo Cafe
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Australia Day celebration HB deadlines: 13(ads) 18(copy)
Halloween Ball The mums, dads, staff and friends of the Bangalow Community Children’s Centre had a creepy time at the Halloween Ball on Friday, 31 October. Photos Christina de Water photography
Karen Garner, Linda Martello, Sue Gow and Hilary Wise dying gracefully
Swans dying at the Show The foursome pictured above may not have won the sash – in honour of Anna Pavlova and her performances between 1912 and WWI - but they (and the spectators) ‘died’ laughing. Eds Photo Judy Baker
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BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT BANGALOW’S HEARTBEAT