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THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 23 #17 Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 22,700 copies every week
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Byron takes to the catwalk
Police hunt graffiti vandals on MySpace Eve Jeffery
Local so-called graffiti ‘artists’ will soon be tagging themselves into the courtroom as police are using the internet web community MySpace as a tracking tool for vandals. The local police and business community are becoming increasingly frustrated by the need for the ongoing cleanup of wall space, and they are exploring new ways to catch tagsters. Rob Bridgland from Bridglands Retravision in Mullumbimby has spent yet another Monday morning removing graffiti from his premises. ‘We were hit again this weekend,’ said Rob on Monday morning. ‘This is another in a long string of attacks. On average we are vandalised every two weeks – this is certainly not a new problem for us and we have also had some of our delivery vehicles painted as well.’ Rob feels that a two-pronged defence will help solve this insidious problem. He would like to see more of a police presence on one side and for parents to take some responsibility on the other.
Check your dirty kids
All the hard work, late night sewing and show night nerves for the local designers in Byron Bay Fashion Week are over until next year. The runway played host to labels such as Massuri, Judy Who Designs and RaceFree Couture. Everything from daywear to the party dresses of Judy and Jaz Who, finished on Saturday night with a fun parade of naughty knickers from The Knicker Parlour. Winning designers were Georgie Evans for the People Choice Award, Georgie Evans for the Dreamworld Conservation Fund Best Eco Designer, with the 2008 Fox Creek Wines Best Designer
Award going to Galit Massuri. Event producer Glynn Anderson said, ‘The production team is taking a break, but only until the end of October when we will start a search for the model who will become “First Face� of Byron Fashion Week 2009. Thanks to everyone who purchased a ticket or made a donation, the event raised $2,000 [10% of ticket sales to tiger conservation] and we’re still counting.’ Photos Jeff ‘Supermodel’ Dawson. See more photos in the September news section of Galleries at www.echo.net.au
‘Parents need to ask more questions of their children. When kids walk in the door with spray paint all over their hands and clothing they need to be accountable for it. And it’s not only paint, those thick black textas cause a fair bit of damage as well.’ Police are using MySpace as a way to track tagsters and are having success catching artists. They have also found that once they have caught one, they usually catch the others. Rob says that he spends a lot of money on anti-graffiti paint which is expensive and won’t go on all surfaces. ‘I’m sick of the graffiti,’ he said. ‘I’m sick of it and the police are sick of it. Something needs to be done.’
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