BYRON SHIRE

The Byron Shire, covering an area of 566 square kilometres, is located at Australia's eastern-most point, 180km south of Brisbane, 800km north of Sydney.

There are a number of towns and villages in the shire, which has a population of 29,083 (Source: ABS, 2000), 30% living in rural areas. The annual growth rate is 2%, with a rate base of 13,134.

Income is sourced largely from tourism and agriculture. An estimated 1.7 million tourists visit each year. Thriving home-based businesses focus on alternative, cultural and knowledge industries, with a growing population of artists, writers and filmmakers.

The area is famed for its rural beauty and its beaches.

For more information visit the Byron Shire Council website

COMING TO THE BAY

Aboriginals came to the meeting place - "cavvanbah". Captain Cook sailed past in May 1770 and named Cape Byron as a tribute to Admiral Byron. Master of HMAS Rainbow, William Johns, mapped the bay and its three rocks in 1828. Under the command of Captain Rous, the party was looking for a safe anchorage.

Cedar cutters made occasional camps at the bay and logs were shipped from Tallow Beach. At Palm Valley under the Cape, David Jarman had a half way house for those travelling the beaches from Ballina to Brunswick.

The village of Cavvanbah was surveyed in 1884 and in December 1885, 200 lots were sold in the first speculative land sale.

The land sales, building of the jetty in 1886, and opening of the railway in 1894 (when the village of Cavvanbah became Byron Bay), set the scene for growth.

These crucial developments all took place at a time when the rush for timber was slowing and dairy men were starting to settle the land. Cows were milked by hand and cream skimmed off settling pans for butter.

New centrifugal separators took cream from milk quickly and hygienically. The cream was then churned to butter. A number of separating stations had been established in the district. There was talk of a central factory.

The jetty and the railway at Byron Bay made it the obvious choice. A co-operative was formed in 1895 to provide cold storage for perishable goods from the district, to manufacture, store, sell and export milk and dairy products, and to make and sell ice. This was the beginning of Norco, and the plant was built beside the railway line.

But the first farmers had trouble with poor natural grasses and the industry didn't begin to grow until Mr Edwin Seccombe found on his Wollongbar farm that paspalum (grass) improved his butter production. The factory at Byron Bay was the ultimate beneficiary of this discovery as farmers improved their pastures. The manufacture of butter trebled in five years from 1899 to 1904.

The factory expanded its operations to become the biggest butter factory in the southern hemisphere - some have said the world. But there was more...

For more information visit byron-bay.com website.

THE LIGHTHOUSE

Constructed of prefabricated concrete blocks in 1901, the Cape Byron Lighthouse stands on the most easterly point of the Australian mainland and is Australia's most easterly lighthouse.

It is built in the James Barnet style, by his successor, Charles Harding. James Barnet, the New South Wales colonial architect, was renown for his towers having large ornate crowns and are easily distinguished.

The first-order optical lens, which weighs 8 tons, was made by the French company, Societe des Establishment, Henry Lepante, Paris. It contains 760 pieces of highly polished prismatic glass.

The original concentric six wick burner was 145,00 cd. This was replaced in 1922 by a vaporised kerosene mantle burner gave an of 500,000 cd.

In 1956 the light became Australia's most powerful, at 2,200,00 cd when it was converted to mains electricity. At the same time the clock mechanism was replaced by an electric motor.

An auxiliary fixed red light is also exhibited from the tower to cover Juan and Julian Rocks to the north east.

A great banquet was arranged for the opening in 1901 and many dignitaries, including the NSW Premier of the day John See, were invited. However due to adverse weather conditions the premiers ship was delayed by till the following day and the banquet was held without him. The opening by the Premier took place a day late on the Sunday.

It is interesting to note that Cape Byron was named by Captain Cook after John Byron, grandfather of the famous poet.