Neither power nor wealth, only Art and Science will endure. Tycoon Brahe
Astronomer & Mathematician
tranquil. Meat and dairy farmers lived simply, and for their companies or families rather than selves. Things were cheap and until quite recently, the streets of Byron, Bangalow or Mullumbimby were thin and dusty. A local dairy farmer in Coorabell tells me that on a weekend you could shoot a rifle down the street and not a soul would notice nor care. Lismore was the regional centre with its river and supplies. And before then was a dense belt of incredible, rich coastal rainforest crawling with critters and birds and dripping wet. That was logged early in the 20th century; you can still drive down the old shoots where they rolled the logs down the ridge – Coopers Shoot, Possum Shoot, Skinners Shoot. The Wategos family had a farm down by the beach and to get from here to town ran a long windy road, seemingly ages out of town. Now we zip back and forth willy nilly to swim there with its nice lawns and swanky houses perched atop.
Taylor Miller is a 25 year old born and bred Byron Bay surfer. She has been in the editorial collective of Kurungabaa journal of the sea since 2008, when she began studying at Sydney University. Based in Byron currently, she is known to take off travelling to find more adventure further afield.
GIFTS / SHOPPING / BUILDING
So much change has occurred here in an extraordinarily short period of time, and it’s
created a buzz about the place. The people who live here adapt how they can – most take it within their stride and others resent new ways. Nonetheless we remain beautiful and unique to the rest of Australia, and with time for one another. When challenges come – economical, social or environmental (such as the threat of current Coal Seam Gas mining proposals in the area) we function well as a community to do the right thing for quality of life and earth because these surrounds are what affect daily lives and future generations. We may not always win but we at least attempt to live the way we want to and maintain what is right and healthy. Consider what you enjoy about the Bay region, approach it with care and curiosity, and acknowledge a depth of past not only what appears at its surface.
Quality Builders Award Winning Architect Designs Renovations, Alterations & Insurance Builders Contact Darren Paxton 0412 497 637 www.arcbuildinsurance.com
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