THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 24 #44 Tuesday, April 13, 2010 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 21,000 copies every week
Byron Region Community College Term 2 course guide in this week’s Echo DAZE OF WHINE AND POSERS
Shearwater’s fight for survival So long the Wongs Victoria Cosford
The Wongs will be missed. After more than 30 years in Byron Bay they are moving on. A familiar sight around town on their one-person bicycle, Kim aged 90 and Kam aged 88 will soon be moving up to Jeta Gardens in Bethania, Queensland, a Chinese nursing home. Owners of the Red Ginger Food Stores Leslie Ford and Marina Batalha have known the Wongs for the last eight years; the couple is often seen perched in front of the Byron Bay store. ‘They are part of Red Ginger’, Marina told The Echo, ‘they look the part!’ The Wongs met in Hong Kong where Kim had fled to escape the Communist regime and went on
to train as a chef. They came out to Australia in the 70s, Kim running his own restaurant in Wollongong before they made the move to Byron Bay. At the roundabout where now stands the ubiquitous surf shop, Kim soon became chef of the town’s very first Chinese restaurant. ‘It was a good business’, he told The Echo via Marina, who acted as interpreter. ‘There were not many restaurants in those days.’ They built one of the first houses on Pacific Vista Drive, where they have been living ever since – up until fairly recently cultivating their own garden of vegetables and medicinal herbs. The Wongs do not speak English, although, according to Leslie, Kam ‘used to speak a lot more but since she continued on page 2
Moya Sayer-Jones and Jane Hanckel are part of the bid to raise $2 million to keep the Shearwater school open. Local businesses have come out in support in a feature on page 21. Photo Jeff Dawson Eve Jeffery
Moving into the fourth week of a proposed ten week Voluntary Administration, the Shearwater Steiner School in Mullumbimby says they have received messages and pledges of financial aid from across the community and overwhelming support from both Australia and overseas. The entire school community is maintaining a confident attitude in the face of possible closure and the general outlook is of a positive continuation into the distant future. Mark Robinson from PPB, the current administrators, says that there is still an ongoing investigation onto how the school arrived at its current financial situation and that a report of the findings will be sent to creditors by April 23. PPB says that the school was previously incorporated under the New South Wales State Associations’ leg-
islation but is now a company limited by guarantee under the Commonwealth Corporations Act. ‘The change was made earlier this year before our appointment as administrators. We understand that the change was made to facilitate the improved governance of the school and recommended to the school by government authorities and other advisers in the education sector.’ Mr Robinson says that they have been made aware of potential substantial benefactors in support of the school. ‘The school continues to operate with the support of parents, teachers and the government authorities,’ he says. ‘The school community is implementing a fundraising drive for donations and is making approaches to potential substantial benefactors.’ One of the next steps during the VA will be to call for a meeting of the creditors committee which was
formed at the recent creditors information evening. ‘A meeting of the committee can only be validly convened by the administrators,’ says Mr Robinson. ‘We intend to call a meeting when we receive for consideration an indicative proposal for a financial restructure of the school under a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA).’ The Shearwater community has begun fundraising in earnest and has created a Save Shearwater Facebook and website. Members of the community will have the opportunity to donate money to the campaign through the site which displays both bank and PayPal account details. Money will be placed in an independent trust account to be overseen by the VA and returned to benefactors if the school is not made viable. To view the websites, follow the links on Facebook or visit: www. Kam and Kim Wong outside Red Ginger. Photo Jeff ‘Mr Wrong’ Dawson saveshearwater.com.au.
enrich your spirit
www.crystalcastle.com.au Open 7 Days 10am-5pm (NSW time) 81 Monet Drive, Mullumbimby 40 mins from Tweed Heads 20 mins from Byron Bay (02) 6684 3111
<echowebsection=Local News>