Northern NSW year in review: Moments that made 2024
From developments, the relocation of flood-battered cottages and horrific crashes to ag expos, the reopening of sporting facilities and a celebration of northern NSW’s best and brightest, here are the moments that made 2024.
Lismore
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Another lap around the sun is done, but before we head deep into the new year, we’ve had a gander back at some of the intriguing events and issues that shaped 2024 in Lismore, Byron and Ballina.
Cyclone Kirrily kicked off last year in January, bringing with her fears of further flooding that thankfully didn’t eventuate.
Members of the Save Our Summits (SOS) group also led a rally at the Uki sportsground, with North Coast Indigenous elder Sturt Boyd echoing cries to see the Mt Warning hiking trail open again to the public.
Meanwhile, a human bone found poking out of the ocean floor near the SS Wollongbar wreck at Belongil Beach was identified as belonging to a 31-year-old man who went missing in 2023.
Red imported fire ants made headlines when they showed up in nests in Wardell. The pest is still a current threat.
Aside from the nasty pest ants, the region had a giggle about the cicadas making a racket and Woolworths causing a stir when the supermarket giant announced it would not carry any Australia Day merchandise.
Kyogle Council sacked its general manager and the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange in Casino hosted its first sale after a seven-month standoff.
The former Feros Care site in Byron Bay became George’s Cottages after a long slog fought by elderly residents determined to keep their homes, and while heritage-listed Blakebrook Public School was set to be bulldozed, the first flood-battered home was trucked out of Lismore.
February brought housing to the fore as residents across the Northern Rivers were forced out of homes and into the tight rental market due to government-funded property buybacks.
Tenants were evicted as owner-occupiers accepted a buyback under the Resilient Home Program left the besieged city in droves.
Meanwhile, the first land-release under the $100 million Resilient Lands Program was announced in a deal between Southern Cross University, state government agency Landcom and the NSW Reconstruction Authority.
Richmond Valley Council announced plans to create almost 2000 new jobs while bolstering manufacturing, food processing, agribusiness, and alternatives for industrial growth and waste control via the The Regional Job Precinct in Casino.
Byron Bay was in the spotlight as longstanding business Singh’s Tyre and Mechanical closed its doors after trading for 25 years, due in part to a lack of workers.
Byron Council slashed its annual short-term rental cap from 180 days to 60 days in a bid to make more housing available.
A $9m, 24-home unit block proposal also crossed Byron Council’s desk prioritising accommodation for retail and hospitality workers.
The Tyagarah beach nudist colony protested against the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, which owns the land, requesting to revoke the beach’s clothing-optional status.
Uncontrolled domestic dogs were blamed for attacking and killing other pets and chickens, while the Varroa mite stung many apiculturists as they fought the pest from destroying their hives.
Dogs were still a problem in March as experts cited wild dog breeding season amid increased dog attacks and pet deaths.
More big spending development landed in Byron with Bonobo by Raes, a proposed $29m, two-level complex housing 41 apartments, and the $80m West Byron Commercial subdivision.
However, protesters opposed to the Wallum housing development at Brunswick Heads brought slashing machinery to a halt on the northern NSW site in “another non-violent direct action” to save the claimed biodiverse site home to threatened species.
Communities in Lismore and Ballina, at their wits’ end over children as young as 10 breaking into their homes and stealing car keys and valuables after being let back out on bail, brought two large crowds, community leaders, police and ex-cops together for the first ever community meetings on youth crime.
Splendour in the Grass organisers copped a lashing after suddenly cancelling the trademark music festival, blaming “worryingly slow” ticket sales for the decision.
Displaced flood victims holed up in temporary pod villages were put on tenterhooks with no clear pathway into more secure accommodation in March. As pending land lease expiry dates loomed, 1000-plus temporary pod village residents were on a waiting list for housing in northern NSW. The 2022 flood disaster damaged 10,849 properties and left more than 4000 homes uninhabitable.
Anzac Day was widely celebrated as thousands gathered across the north of the state in remembrance. Parades, marches, and shared tears brought the region together on a beautiful sunny day.
Wallum protesters took their game to the next level in April, fighting with police and forcing J&M Bashforth & Sons to withdraw from their contract at the Clarence Property-owned development site at Brunswick Heads.
The beloved heritage railway station at Mullumbimby burnt to the ground due to “an electrical outburst”, with locals commenting it was a “very sad ending”.
Police began an investigation into a fire that took out Casino business Athol and Lorraine’s laundromat and Mun Tien Chinese restaurant at a dual occupancy on Walker St during the early hours of April 29, destroying both buildings.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was overshadowed by protesters for Save Wallum and those voicing support for Palestine amid the opening of Beacon Laundry, a Bangalow social enterprise.
Byron Bay homelessness service Fletcher Street Cottage spurned the PM’s visit, saying it felt “overlooked”. The snub coincided with Byron’s rough sleepers numbers soaring.
Dunny paper bandits also managed to nick 3000 rolls of plush toilet paper from five-star hotel toilet paper provider Peekapoo in Bangalow.
“I’m not sure what the thieves are going to do with almost 3000 rolls of luxury toilet paper,” owner Sandra-Lea Murray said.
The Lismore and District Netball Association cheered the day it got back into its clubhouse on Ballina Rd after operating out of an onsite shipping container and using port-a-loos following the record natural disaster that swamped its two-storey structure in 2022.
Lismore also hosted the federal inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 floods, a day-long hearing of experiences from five northern NSW councils, including Lismore City, business representatives, flood victims, legal representatives and community leaders.
In May, Byron Shire council pushed for government funding to combat the shire’s dire homelessness statistics, which showed Byron had more rough sleepers than Sydney for a second year in a row. Despite receiving $1.3m for “intensive case management” shared between three services, more funding was needed.
The inquest into the death of Lismore man Jarrad Antonovich, 46, who died while taking part in a ‘kambo’ frog poison and ayahuasca ceremony at Arcoora Arts & Eco Retreat at Collins Creek, north of Casino in October 2021, was suspended. The matter was referred to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration of criminal charges.
The region was brought to its knees in May with the unthinkable act of a desperate father, who took his life and that of his two-year-old son in Lismore.
The toddler’s mother, Sophie Roome, said: “Rowan’s life was ended by an evil and cowardly act of violence, perpetrated by a person he should have been able to trust the most.”
Four people lost their lives in a horrific crash after the Mazda BT-50 they were travelling in rolled coming out of corner on Back Channel Rd, Wardell.
Paramedics arrived and found a male behind the wheel of the dual cab, along with two male passengers and one female passenger, dead at the scene. Police released CCTV footage in a bid to identify another car they say was chasing the ute.
Demand for emergency care surged in both Mid and North Coast emergency departments as the highest reported quarter on record.
Lismore locals and itinerant workers found refuge squatting in a number of flood-hit buyback homes, angering the state government which wanted them gone.
The region’s largest agricultural expo, Primex, drew a healthy crowd for its 40-year milestone in Casino, pleasing the Wright family, which has operated the event since 1985.
Fishers using supermarket prawns as bait were blamed for an outbreak of white spot virus found in wild school prawns for the first time in NSW during routine water testing at Evans Head.
In June, Lismore Council “transfered” a 37-hectare parcel of North Coast council-owned land known as “Sleeping Lizard Hill” back to traditional owners. The council also voted to install more sharps bins to curb increased dumping of used needles in public spaces.
Norco enlisted the help of one its former farmers as a mental health support officer for its farmers and the state government issued a historic apology after brutal anti-gay laws were overturned.
More than $200,000 of the state government’s $100m Resilient Lands Program was announced for Ballina Shire Council to build “shoptop” homes.
Childcare places were scarce in June, with many parents and carers unable to secure a place for their child, citing lengthy rebuilding and low staff numbers.
In July, Byron-based protest group Save Wallum cheered a Federal Court stop work injunction placed on the Wallum development site at Brunswick Heads.
Ballina Hospital copped a community lashing when a husband was made to wait hours outside in the cold with his wife after she was sent by her doctor for a rapid pulse and breathing difficulties because she couldn’t wear a face mask. The hospital issued a frowned-upon apology that had many complaining about doctor shortages and long wait times in the region’s hospitals.
Almost 25,000 residents went without power in a mass unplanned blackout when the 330-kilovolt Lismore-Coffs Harbour transmission line “tripped”. Authorities said without shedding power due to over demand, key infrastructure may have failed.
Youth crime continued to plague the region, with statistics revealing some areas being hit with twice as many crimes compared to half a decade ago, while local NSW Police Facebook pages overflowed with public appeals relating to stolen vehicles.
To help combat an increase in alcohol and drug use in northern NSW, Nimbin Neighbourhood Centre was awarded $470,000 a year for the next four years to fund the Nimbin Drug and Alcohol Hub, inside the Cullen St centre.
Court sheriffs walked off the job in July demanding better pay and conditions causing delays and closures of some busy regional courthouses.
August rain caused minor flooding in northern NSW, cutting off roads and low lying areas as falls into the 100mm range drenched the region.
Northern Rivers mum Julie Gronow spoke outside Lismore courthouse after the man convicted of her son’s brutal stabbing murder received his sentence.
An inquest into the police shooting death of Tenterfield carpet fitter, 48-year-old Corey Selby, who had threatened to kill his family with an unregistered gun in regional NSW, found he did not actually intend to hurt anybody.
Hundreds of big rigs drew in more than 30,000 people from across the nation to the annual Casino Truck Show – delivering a boon of just under $4m for the local economy. Organisers cheered that the show “broke records everywhere” and was “huge”.
Housing remained in the spotlight with no plans to get tenants in the region’s temporary pod villages into more secure accommodation. Tenants fretted they’d be homeless once land leases soon expired.
Councils were under fire to address discoloured and smelly tap water across the region while many residents also battled with a mix of influenza, pneumonia, Covid, respiratory syncytial virus and whooping cough coming out of winter.
Ballina launched “Purple Friday”, in which residents donned purple shirts in a stand against domestic violence.
In September, the Lismore community’s heart broke with the family of 15-year-old Alysha Martin, who lost her life in a tragic accident on the Bruxner Hwy where she was struck by a vehicle and died.
A historic little public school at Wyrallah named its library after 90-year old Wilfred ‘Fred’ Hoskins’, who had attended as a boy and continually given back, saying his association with the school was what kept him going.
The state government-backed Landcom’s $27m, 50-unit build-to-rent development project planned for Crawford Rd in Lismore took another step towards fruition when plans were placed on public exhibition.
Lismore and District Workers Club reopened its doors after two-and-a-half years, delighting locals and visitors.
October had police begin another investigation, this time into what they believed to be a deliberate arson attack on a Ballina tobacconist.
Gage Wilson, 31, was remembered by family for his “loving legacy” after he was found dead in bushland despite a three-month search.
Local government elections delivered many new councillors to northern NSW councils with the mayoral seat shifting in Byron, Kyogle, Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour, while the Ballina, Lismore, and Richmond Valley mayors retained their seats.
Nimbin Mountain Top Coffee Estate, Lord Byron Distillery, and Yamba Distilling Co took out top honours at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show Awards, while a slew of other local businesses won gold, silver and bronze awards.
Lismore’s famed $1m handcrafted Hannah Cabinet is being restored after being damaged in the 2022 floods, under the care of International Conservation Services’ Julian Bickersteth in Chatswood until it is returned to Lismore, ideally within two years.
An exciting $4.9m “shoptop” apartment complex was proposed for Evans Head. The mixed-use project by 17 The Evans Pty Ltd and Barker Architects includes a street-level cafe with 10 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units above.
The former Byron hospital on Shirley St was reborn and opened as Byron CoLab, which includes Baloneys Deli, Northern Rivers Community Foundation, Barefoot law, Byron Community College, Arakwal Corporation, The Family Centre, Dani Quayle, Animal Emergency Australia, The Advocate for Children and Young People, and Social Futures.
In November, backpackers caught in rough surf on Main Beach in Byron received a serendipitous rescue from a champion ironman, saying they “would have died” if he didn’t come out.
Fire ants that travelled across the border in landscaping turf caused concern forcing authorities to swoop on a site at Clunes. Operation Five Valleys was launched soon after.
Another intense storm blacked out the region for almost a day closing schools, businesses, after equipment failures and downed powerlines.
After a long inquest into the ”kambo” frog poison death of 46-year-old Lismore man Jarrad Antonovich was suspended, homicide detectives launched a probe into the case.
Southern Cross University caused nationwide outrage when it canned its creative arts courses.
The state government pledged $21m towards alcohol and drug services in northern NSW during the first of its kind regional drug summit in Lismore.
Flight paths over Ballina Byron Gateway Airport came up for community review due to a change in aircraft operations around Ballina, Alstonville and surrounding areas aimed at “safely accommodating the continued growth of air traffic in the region”.
Two anglers rescued from their sinking trawler 15km off the coast at Lennox Head at 3am were pulled from the water by Ballina Marine Rescue, which warned the sunken wreck was now a navigation hazard.
In December, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb visited the North Coast to discuss the $28m police and firefighter precinct announced for Byron Bay to ensure emergency services could keep up with growing demand.
Community resentment flared up at Lismore Council when a motion to remove anti-CSG signage from the entrances to the city was upheld, despite protests and speakers outlining the historical significance.
Fromelles Manor, the former RSL aged care home where residents were rescued in the 2022 flood disaster, is now in the hands of Social Futures, which, with the aid of Homes NSW, seeks to establish a 30-room crisis accommodation suite in Lismore.
Marcus Schintler, a former rocker from Weddings Parties Anything, was appointed as Kyogle council’s new general manager.
Popular Byron restaurant and deli Harvest Newrybar stuned the region with its sudden closure, saying it had become “unsustainable” to remain open.
A “microburst” storm with 125km/h winds, marble-sized hail and heavy rainfall lashed the Northern Rivers, plunging 10,600 homes and businesses into darkness.
Casino RSL Sub Branch secretary expressed his disappointment saying he is “sick” of the “ridiculous” damage being done in town as a Richmond Valley war memorial, the Mafeking Lamp, was vandalised again.
A Casino farmer named Blake was among the winners in the ABC Heywire competition with his entry on how the bush allowed him to understand the highs and lows of life.
“My story is about the two sides of the bush. How it’s, you know, stressful, and it can also be a happy place where it’s tranquil,” he said.
The largest HSC cohort on record finishing their schooling was celebrated in the best and brightest from the North Coast for distinguished achievers, top achievers in course, and all-round achievers.
Kyogle Arts Inc and Kyogle Council partnered to put on a community exhibition showcasing the very best of local sculptors, painters, watercolours and textiles.
A Casino father said he’d buy his family a home after he received the “best Christmas present ever” when he learned he had won $1m in the national lottery.
And an exciting new development was approved for Kyogle’s first “eco village”, designed as sustainable living and to reignite the township of Afterlee.
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