Byron Bay, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Byron Bay
state = nsw


caption = Byron Lighthouse
lga = Byron Shire Council
postcode = 2481
pop = 5,609Census 2006 AUS|id=SSC16597|name=Byron Bay (State Suburb)|accessdate=2007-09-05|quick=on]
mayor = Jan Barham
elevation= 3
maxtemp = 23.7
mintemp = 16.5
rainfall = 1723.5
stategov = Ballina
fedgov = Richmond
dist1 = 800
location1= Sydney
dist2 = 200
location2= Brisbane
dist3 = 73
location3= Surfers Paradise

Byron Bay is a town in the state of New South Wales on the easternmost point of mainland Australia. The town is the nucleus of Byron Shire, which has in excess of 30,000 people (ABS est. 2003). Captain James Cook named Cape Byron after circumnavigator John Byron, grandfather of English poet Lord Byron.

Location

Byron Bay is located 759 kilometres north of Sydney and 140 kilometres south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjacent to the town, is the most easterly point of Australia.

Tourism

The town has several beaches which are popular for surfing. It is a resort popular with both domestic and international tourists, including backpackers, who travel along the Australian coast, and the scenery attracts sky divers. The area is also noted for its wildlife, with the whale watching industry a significant contributor to the local economy.

An oceanway connects from the Byron Bay hotel in the centre of town out to the Cape Byron lighthouse and visitors are encouraged to choose sustainable options for moving around town like walking and cycling.

Byron Bay is the place where the temperate and tropical waters merge, making it a popular area for scuba diving and snorkelling. Most diving happens at Julian Rocks, which is now part of the recently established Cape Byron Marine Park and only a few minutes boat ride from Main Beach.

The town is popular with visitors and residents from all socio-economic backgrounds and walks of life. It is famous for its laid back and alternative lifestyle, but also has a higher proportion of Baby Boomers (27%) than any other town in Australia.Fact|date=November 2007

Origin

Byron Bay is part of the erosion caldera of an ancient shield volcano, the Tweed Volcano, which erupted 23 million years ago. The volcano formed as a result of the Indo-Australian Plate moving over the East Australia hotspot.

History

Before it became a renowned surfing and tourist spot, Byron Bay had a history of primary industrial production (dairy factory ["Creamery Tramway at Byron Bay" Longworth, Jim Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, October, 1996 pp295-298] , abattoirs, whaling until 1963, fishing) and was a significant, but hazardous, sea port. The town was established in 1885 and was originally known as Cavenbah. Its name was changed to Byron Bay in 1894. In 1895, the Norco Dairy company was established in Byron Bay. [http://www.norco.com.au/publish/history/index.php] The lighthouse was built in 1901 at the most easterly point on the Australian mainland.

In 1930, the first meatworks opened. http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Beauty-and-the-beast/2005/03/20/1111253864398.html] The beginning of Byron Bay's modern shape occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s when surfers from Sydney 'discovered' the warm blue waters and good quality surf. In following years, the attractions of the area became more and more widely known, with an attendant increase in tourism. Progressively the notoriously smelly whaling station and abattoirs closed down, as did the Norco dairy factory, which was once the largest such facility in the Southern Hemisphere. Fact|date=October 2008

National Estate

The following places are listed on the Register of the National Estate [The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.2/214]
* Cape Byron Lighthouse
* Broken Head Nature Reserve (south of Byron Bay)
* Brunswick Heads Nature Reserve (north of Byron Bay)
* Julian Rocks Nature Reserve
* Two Sisters Rocks (south of Byron Bay)

Culture

East of Everything is an ABC series released on the 30/03/08 filmed in Byron Bay

Events

Events held at Byron Bay include yoga retreats, pagan gatherings Fact|date=September 2008, music festivals such as the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival at Easter and Splendour in the Grass, the Byron Bay Writers Festival, the Byron Bay Film Festival and the Byron Underwater Festival

Media

The Byron Bay area has a number of newspapers:
*"The Byron Shire Echo" (Independent weekly A3)
*"The Byron Shire News" (APN weekly A3)
*"The Northern Star" (APN daily)
*"The Saturday Star" (Independent A5 monthly)

Radio stations in Byron area:
*2LM 900 AM (commercial)
*Triple Z FM 100.9 (commercial)
*Triple J 96.1 FM
*ABC Radio National 96.9 FM
*ABC Classic FM 95.3 FM
*ABC Northern Rivers 94.5 FM
*Bay FM 99.9 FM (community)

See also

* Arakwal National Park
* The Wreck (Surf Spot), Byron Bay

References

*cite web
publisher = Bureau of Meteorology
title=Byron Bay (Cape Byron Lighthouse)
work=Climate Averages for Australian Sites
url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_058009.shtml
accessdate = 2006-11-25
* [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/11/01/1130823207650.html Byron Bay battles to please everyone]

External links

* [http://www.byronbayartists.com Byron Bay Artists Community website]
* [http://www.oceania.org.au/ The Oceania Project, Caring for Whales, Dolphins and the Oceans, Byron Bay]
* [http://ngd.com.au/byron-bay/byron-bay-beaches-guide/ Byron Bay Beaches Guide]