Elite sport in our Pools

into the Community Pools

The community pools in Ballina and Alstonville are ideal places to exercise and catch up with friends and family.

There’s plenty of aquatic sports and activities at the pools; making them great locations to host a family BBQ or kid's birthday party.

AUSSIE STINGERS IN OUR POOLS

Our pools continue to attract our nation’s best as they prepare for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

The Australian Women’s Water Polo Squad – The Stingers recently chose Ballina Shire for their first national camp for 2021. For the past 6-months the squad has been forced to train at their home institutes in separate states. With the announcement of the 2021 Olympics the squad was ready to train again, and the Queensland border restrictions enticed the team to come to the equally warm climate of Ballina Shire. Two-time Olympian and Assistant Coach, Bec Rippon, was full of praise for the pool facilities and local hospitality, “we heard really good reviews from other national sports, so we thought we’d come to Ballina Shire and it’s been fantastic.”

Having gained bronze at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, the Stingers have high hopes for Tokyo. “We are going to Tokyo for our best result and want to be on the podium,” added Bec. Keep an eye out for other elite swimming and waterpolo squads visiting our facilities in the coming months. It’s the perfect opportunity to see our nation’s best in action.

Ballina War Memorial Pool & Waterslide

Lee and Vicki Fitzgerald | 02 6686 3771 Opening Hours*: Monday - Friday 5.30am - 7pm Saturday 7am - 6pm Sunday 8am - 5pm

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Alstonville Aquatic Centre

Greg and Kelly Fettell | 02 6628 0826 Opening Hours*: Monday - Friday 5.30am - 7pm Saturday 8am - 6pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

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Patrols for 2020/2021

Swimming Season

BEACH PATROLS START PATROLS FINISH DETAILS

Seven Mile Beach, Lennox Head 28/09/2020 18/04/2021 9am – 5pm Professional Lifeguards Mon-Fri (5 days) Volunteers on weekends and public holidays

Flat Rock, East Ballina (roving guard)

Sharpes Beach, Skennars Head 03/04/2021 18/04/2021

03/04/2021 18/04/2021 9am – 5pm Professional Lifeguards 7 days a week

9am – 5pm Professional Lifeguards 7 days a week

Shelly Beach, East Ballina 03/04/2021 18/04/2021

Lighthouse Beach, Ballina 06/04/2021 18/04/2021 9am – 5pm Professional Lifeguards 7 days a week

9am – 5pm Professional Lifeguards Mon-Fri (5 days) Volunteers on weekends and public holidays

Shared Paths

are Safer Paths

Work has recently been completed on the Coastal Recreational Walk (eastern track from Sharpes Beach to Pat Morton Lookout), and the Coastal Shared Path (western track from Boulders Beach, Skennars Head Road to Pat Morton Lookout).

Both paths are open for the enjoyment of people walking and for people biking, and provide fantastic scenery, leisure, exercise and play. Although people get around in different ways, everyone expresses shared love of the paths. To keep the paths safe and enjoyable for all, we need to share the paths and be considerate.

People cycling should:

Give way to pedestrians

Keep left unless overtaking

Ride at low speeds in busy areas, when approaching corners and crests

Go slow and pay attention to warning signage on steep descents

Ring your bell and slow down when approaching other path users

Where possible, allow one-metre space for pedestrians

Move off the path if stopped

People walking, jogging, skating, or using mobility scooters and motorised wheelchairs should:

Keep to the left Travel in a predictable manner Listen for the sound of a bell and avoid moving into the path of a bike Supervise young children at all times Keep dogs on short leashes Move off the path if stopped

We all love the paths. Sharing the paths makes them safer for everyone.

Everyday people doing extraordinary work

Our 2021 Ballina Shire Australia Day Awards winners have all made outstanding contributions to our community. Over the next few editions of Community Connect we will profile each of the winners to learn more about their work. In this edition we meet Citizen of the Year, Barbara Swain and Young Citizen of the Year, Ryan Webb.

2021 ballina shire citizen of the year

Mental health charity provides path to recovery

Many of us take the necessities of life for granted. Toiletries, clothing, a kettle, a bed, a lounge… whether they’re small things or big things, they make us feel at home.

Some people recovering from mental illness are starting from scratch. The Mental Health Support Group is a unique charity that helps people to get back on their feet. Ballina Shire’s Australia Day Citizen of the Year, Barbara Swain, founded the Mental Health Support Group more than 20 years ago following the tragic loss of her son Barry who took his own life while suffering with depression. Barbara wanted to make a difference. For the next two years she provided toiletry packs for patients at the Lismore Mental Health Unit. An invitation to speak at a Rotary Mental Health Forum in Ballina was the spark for something much bigger. That day 11 people volunteered to help Barbara with her work. Over the next two decades the service grew to become a registered charity providing a wide range of support to patients at the Lismore, Byron Bay and Tweed Heads mental health units, as well as clients recovering in the community.

From quilts to brighten patients’ beds, to Christmas hampers for those undergoing treatment, to therapy dogs for friendship and comfort, to appliances and furniture for those moving into a new home, to covering the cost of school fees, books and uniforms for children impacted by a parent’s mental illness, the Mental Health Support group has been there to help in so many ways.

“We don’t consider the support we provide to be a handout, it’s a hand up,” said Barbara. “It’s the first step on the road to rehabilitation and recovery.”

Barbara said her Australia Day award is recognition of a group effort.

“I’m really embarrassed by it, but of course I’m honored,” she said. “My husband is my greatest supporter, and of course the wonderful volunteers. There’s a whole community of people who make everything happen.”

The charity currently has 25 volunteers but more help is always needed. Volunteers are required to deliver furniture, therapy dogs need to be trained, and up to 50 quilts need to be collected for the mental health unit at Tweed Heads.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Barbara on 0400 736 815 for more information.

The Mental Health Support Group provides services via mental health support professionals. Anyone experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression should consult their GP. 2021 ballina shire young citizen of the year

Young Citizen of the Year

Alstonville resident Ryan Webb was named Young Citizen of the Year at this year’s Australia Day Awards – and it’s easy to see why.

The 19-year-old has a passion for helping those less fortunate. Locally he has volunteered with numerous groups and organisations, including the Five Loaves mobile soup kitchen and the Mental Health Support Group.

“My involvement [with Five Loaves] included collecting left over food from supermarkets and bakeries and distributing it outside of the ADRA Op Shop in Ballina,” said Ryan.

“People [using the soup kitchen] come from various backgrounds and varying degrees of hardship. It was a huge privilege to be able to help people and just be there to listen to them.”

Ryan has worked with the Mental Health Support Group for the past year, helping to deliver donated good to clients recovering from mental illness.

library news

Ryan has also volunteered abroad. In 2014 he travelled to Nepal with volunteers from the Lismore Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In collaboration with the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) they renovated homes in a leprous village.

“We scrubbed the dirt and soot from the walls and ceilings of the units, and then we painted them inside and out,” said Ryan.

“When we were about to leave the lepers lined up at the gate and gave us all flowers. I was blown away by the response we got and how grateful they were.”

In February 2020 Ryan travelled to Kenya to assist with mobile health clinics. He helped to prepare scripts and distribute reading glasses donated from optometrists in Australia.

“I got such a buzz when they found the right pair of glasses and they were able to read, for some of them this was the first time in over 10 years.”

For the past four years Ryan has been working in the kitchen at the Alstonville Adventist Retirement Village. He loves interacting with the residents when he gets the chance.

It makes perfect sense that Ryan has chosen a field of study where care and compassion is key. Ryan is studying nursing and hopes to work in developing countries and communities in outback Australia when he graduates.

“I believe the happiest way to live your life is actually to forget yourself and to get out there and serve the community, and be a blessing to others,” he said. “We will never be happy when we are only focused on ourselves.”

Wise words indeed.

Keen to help? The Ballina Five Loaves Soup Kitchen needs volunteers to cook food, help set up tables and chairs and appliances to serve food. Email ryanawebb1@gmail.com to find out more. Join international best-selling author, hairdresser, and humanitarian Deborah Rodriguez for a live and exclusive In Conversation event.

Former Lismore City Mayor, Jenny Dowell, will host this exciting online event (via Zoom) on Wednesday 24 March from 10.30am.

Deborah Rodriguez is the author of the international best-selling novels The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, The Zanzibar Wife, and Island on the Edge of the World. She has also written two memoirs: The Kabul Beauty School, about her life in Afghanistan, and The House on Carnaval Street, on her experiences following her return to America.

She spent five years teaching and later directing the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan. Deborah is the founder of the non-profit organisation Oasis Rescue, which aims to teach women in post-conflict and disaster-stricken areas, the art of hairdressing.

Deborah currently lives in Mazatlán, Mexico and her new novel, The Moroccan Daughter, released earlier this month is available to reserve on the library catalogue via rtrl.nsw.gov.au

Book your ticket. Call Lismore Library on 6621 2464 to receive the Zoom link.

a land use history snapshot NORTH CREEK

pre-1788 - 2020

a land use history snapshot NORTH CREEK pre-1788 -2020 1

A land use history – North Creek

As part of Council's work on understanding North Creek as a natural system, a series of studies are happening - looking at water quality, and creek hydrology amongst other topics.

When doing these studies, its always good to understand how the catchment we see today developed over time. A land use history of North Creek was developed as part of initial work under Stage 1 of the Coastal Management Program for North Creek. It looks at how the North Creek has evolved from when only Aboriginal people lived here to the creek as we see it today. Many changes have occurred - everything from the breakwall being placed at the mouth of the Richmond River, to clearing and floodplain drainage.

Search 'North Creek' at ballina.nsw.gov.au to view the full land use history document.