Byron Bay

Five teenage boys have been charged over the alleged gang rape of a 13-year-old girl on the NSW north coast. Police said the alleged sex attack took place last Sunday at a place in the Byron-Tweed area. They declined to give precise details of the location where the alleged gang rape occurred in case it identified the victim. The five teenagers were arrested yesterday after the matter was investigated by the Ballina Joint Investigation Response Team and the Tweed/Byron Local Area Command. A 17-year-old youth was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse in company with a person aged between 10 and 14 years, while a second 17-year-old youth was charged with one count of the same offence.
Both were [...]

FEHVA festival director Dee Tipping has announced this week that Jill Eddington is coming on board to mentor the FEHVA program for 2007.
‘As soon as I knew Jill was available to take on mentoring positions after her amazing run with the Byron Bay Writers Festival I was queuing up to see if she would be interested in working with us ’ said Ms Tipping.’
‘Jill and I had worked together as part of the Writer’s Festival sponsorship of the FEHVA event, bringing wonderful guest speakers such as Betty Churcher in 2006. Through this I gleened that Jill had a real passion for the visual arts – as well as tertiary qualifications to back them up.’
‘Our aim [...]

Byron Bay Premium Ale, it seems to be a winner. This low-key beer is gaining traction despite have a minuscule marketing budget and a small distribution network. It is a cheeky drop and not because it is a surprisingly well-flavoured brew with a 5 per cent alcohol bite. For a start it is a lager and not an ale, for those who care about the distinction. And the Byron Bay Brewery doesn’t exist – yet. The beer is concocted in Sydney by contract brewers and the bloke who runs the show lives on the Central Coast of New South Wales, which is a long swim from Wategos.

Byron Bay’s Danny Wills vs Kelly Slater on Gold Coast. EIGHT-times world champion Kelly Slater yesterday nominated the Gold Coast’s Joel Parkinson as the man who could deny him an unprecedented ninth world title this year, but first he has to get past veteran Suffolk Park surfer Danny Wills. Slater, 35, starts his quest today when the season-opening Quiksilver Pro gets underway at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast. Last night’s forecast was for a one-metre swell to kick off the $300,000 World Championship Tour (WCT) season, building in the wake of a cyclone in the Coral Sea towards the end of the week.