THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO Advertising & news enquiries: Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au Available early Tuesday at: http://www.echo.net.au VOLUME 23 #08 TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008 22,700 copies every week
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Festival buoyed by wave of words Jann Gilbert With the weather threatening a deluge of tsunami proportions on the opening day of this year’s Writers Festival the subtitle of the event was looking suspiciously like an ominous and cruel irony. But, like the soothing power of the word, the arrival of sunshine on Saturday evaporated the fears and misgivings of the previous day along with much of the water. (And the eight truckloads of gravel were also very helpful, along with the pumps provided by the Splendour crew.) Watery nightmares aside, armed with gumboots or other sensible shoes, jackets, scarves, and (in many cases) lavish doses of red lippy, festival goers surrendered to the waves of words (and laughter) that rolled across the weekend.
Words, as one panellist in ‘The Idol, the icon and the iconoclast’ session put it, carry the power of stories and, from the opening night speeches to the ďŹ nal session, that power was palpable. Whether it was pondering popular culture with the likes of Danny Katz or life on the big and little screen with William McInnes, Bruce Beresford and David Stratton, it was the stories that people came to hear. Stories of the second novel syndrome and where ideas come from, truth and ďŹ ction, putting yourself on the page, black and white Australia, genre, drama, comedy, the road, music, performance and, ultimately, the human experience that informs a writer’s work. And it’s perhaps this human experience, in any of its guises of
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Special 8 ppage lift out in the centre of this week’s Echo
Devo in full Splendour
song, performance, drama or comedy, that continues to attract and gratify audiences each year. Writing in any form is testament to both our individuality and our commonality. It’s open to unique interpretation by writer and reader/ viewer but, paradoxically, can evoke a sea of emotions and empathy on a mass scale. Well crafted, it has the power to move us to laughter and to tears. ‘Shakespeare’s glove,’ as Bryan Dawe eloquently reminded us is ‘one glove with two sides. Humour doesn’t work without drama, and drama doesn’t work without humour.’ Like any well-crafted script, the 2008 Writers Festival will be fondly remembered for both. ■For many more Writers Festival photos go to www.echo.net.au.
The Chaser’s Julian Morrow and actor Miriam Margoyles in full flight at the festival. For many more festival photos go to www.echo.net.au then follow links to photo gallery / events / writers festival. Photo Jeff Dawson
You’ve got to love blokes with flowerpots on their heads. New Wave music icons Devo will be among the acts at this year’s Splendour in the Grass festival at Belongil Fields. For more on Devo see www.clubdevo.com and for more on Splendour see the feature centre pages. Photo courtesy Andrew Boyle
Planners recommend approval for Splendour event at Yelgun site Michael McDonald Byron Shire Council planners have recommended approval of a development application for the Splendour in the Grass festival to be held at the North Byron Shire Parklands Yelgun site in August 2009. Councillors are due to consider the DA at an extraordinary meeting this Thursday at 1pm. Many residents in the north of the Shire and local environmental
groups have opposed the development of the Yelgun site as a festival venue. Council’s planners have recommended approval on the basis the Splendour festival is ‘a single event only‌ The applicant intends to conduct the event as a one off “trialâ€? so as to determine the capability of the site and the surrounding area for the proposed future use of the site.’ The sticking point for opponents
is that the proposed infrastructure for the festival, including roadworks, seems to be of a permanent nature. The festival is intended to run from Friday July 31 until Monday August 3 inclusive. The DA proposes having 7,500 campers on site and a maximum of 15,000 extra patrons each day. In a press release last Monday the Byron Ratepayers Association
said. ‘Council’s actions in listing the Splendour DA decision for the extraordinary general meeting‌ is cynical at best and likely to lead to a formal complaint to ICAC,’ said the Byron Ratepayers Association. ‘To expect the extensive number of objectors to plough through 130 pages of the planning report in three working days is outrageous,’ said Dr Norm Sanders, Vice Chair of BRA. ‘Council’s letter of advice
contains an incorrect link to the report. A quick look at the report indicates that the RTA agrees that the trafďŹ c to the proposed megafestival in 2009 should go along Brunswick Valley Way. In other words blocking off all access to Ocean Shores, South Golden Beach, and suburbs to the north of the Shire. Council’s report fails to document the relevant comments continued on page 2
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