Byron Bay

Everyone is talking about the 2006 Dolphin Awards - being held at the Beach Hotel at Byron Bay.
North Coast Music presents the 15th annual local music industry awards, the Dolphin Awards.
It’s the regional music industry’s night of nights - on Tuesday, October 10th, at 6.00 pm.
Tickets cost $25 for the showcase and a late supper.
The Southern Cross University’s Dr Jean Griffiths - Head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences (SASS) - will present an award on the night, as SASS is a sponsor of the 2006 Awards.
For more info visit www.nceia.org.au .

Richard Moffatt, an artist from the south coast of NSW, has won the 11th annual Thursday Plantation East Coast sculpture show.
See the sculptures online at www.sculptureshow.net.
Moffatt’s winning sculpture, entitled No 433, is made from 1500 kilos of scrap steel.
The sculpture show features 62 works by 56 East Coast artists.
Check out the show for yourself - the show runs everyday from 9 to 5 until January 31.

As we wrote earlier this month, the Byron Bay Surf Club is celebrating its 100th birthday this month.
The club doesn’t turn 100 until February next year, but they decided to celebrate early because February happens to be one of the busiest months on the Surf Lifesaving calender.
Over on the ABC website, Jane Munro has put together a great feature on the history of the Byron Bay Club.
Check out some great pictures of the early days.
The Byron Bay surf club will celebrate it 100th birthday at a black tie function held at the club this Saturday, September 30. More than 300 people will attend the event that sold out within days of the tickets going on sale.

Do you love animation? Some of the best short animations will be playing at Lismore’s Southern Cross University on October 19 and 20.
The University is hosting the Australian International Animation Festival (AIAF), featuring films from 13 countries.
Sessions include the cult 90s MTV series Aeon Flux, which launched the savage style mimicked in The Matrix series, and a slate of amazing Australian works – from the exquisite tale of a boy who wants to touch the moon, to the adventures of Mr Money, the clownish coloniser.
Local animator Tim Adlide says the university is lucky to have access to shorts of this quality.
He said many are ephemeral gems “like balloons at the fair, or comets in the night sky which you have [...]

Following the NSW Government approval of the $50 million Becton tourism development at Belongil Beach, the Broken Head Beach Resort redevelopment — estimated to be worth $4.5 million — has also been approved by Planning Minister Frank Sartor.
But apparently Byron Shire Council has been kept in the dark about the decision.
Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham said the council had not been formally notified of the Broken Head approval, although small advertisements have been placed in local media announcing the decision.
Cr Barham estimates the local community will wear the cost of lost developer contributions following the State’s decision.

Following lengthy proposals, the RTA has released the preferred routes for two key Pacific Highway upgrades on the North Coast.
The Tintenbar to Ewinsdale section of the highway is an amalgamation of a number of preferred routes - parts of the A/B, A1, B1,A2 and T2 options.
Check out a map of the preferred route HERE.
The preferred route will follow Sandy Flat Road to Ross Lane, then cross over and stay just east of the existing highway, using part of the existing Bangalow Bypass. The new route will then deviate to east and go under St Helena Hill via a short tunnel before reconnecting to the highway at Ewingsdale.
The Tintenbar to Ewingsdale preferred route will be on display until Friday 3 [...]

Byron Bay Film Festival Byron Bay, Australia February 9-17, 2007
Deadline: October 14, 2006
The BBFF 2007 festival will run Feb. 9-17, 2007. The theme for BBFF 2007 is “looking to the future” and the festival aims to explore the possibilities of filmmaking and related technology. In tune with the theme, BBFF is particularly looking for entries from films full of animation or visual effects or which are high-definition. Films of all lengths and genres, which were completed after Jan. 1, 2005, are welcome to enter with awards available in the categories of Best Film, Young Filmmaker (under 25), Animation, Experimental, Surfing, Drama, Documentary, Marine, Comedy and Cinematography. Famous for its laidback lifestyle, festivals and creative community, as with BBFF 2006, the [...]

The Byron Bay Jazz Club has moved to the Byron Bay Beach Resort, Bayshore Drive, Byron Bay. Sunday the 1st October features the “Elana Stone Band” For this month and this month only the Jazz Club will be in the Lakeside Pavillion at The Byron Bay Beach Resort and features the Elana Stone Band.
Elana Stone: Vocalist/Pianist - Best Jazz Artist at the Musicoz awards, 2004. Winner of the National Jazz Awards at Wangaratta Jazz Festival, 2005. Semi – finalist at the Montreux Jazz Festival Vocal Competition, 2005.
Elana began her musical training from an early age and was accepted into the prestigious Newtown [...]

Tourists and locals alike are being warned to take extra care as snake season begins earlier than usual.
Byron Shire snake catcher George Ellis reckons that the brown snakes are coming out to hunt their prey early in the season after a mild winter.
Apparently, the Byron CBD is also a very popular destination for slithering snakes – particularly Johnson St, Marvel, Lawson and Gilmore.
The public is being urged to keep clear of the snakes.

The company behind a controversial luxury resort development at Byron Bay has recorded a bumper profit.
The Becton Property Group declared a $24.9 million profit for the 2005-06 financial year, which exceeded its prospectus forecast by 26 per cent.
The Melbourne-based company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in July 2005.
It is behind a proposed 290-home resort on 92ha at Belongil Beach, and after more than a decade of public debate, legal action, and protests, it recently got ministerial blessing for its development plans.
The first stage of the development will see the construction of 117 units.