Angourie, Byron drownings continue horrific trend

By Tim Howard

The drowning of Sydney teenager who disappeared after plunging into the Green Pool at Angourie on January 14, is part of a trend of drownings in NSW and Australia this summer.

The teen’s death began a tragic week on the NSW coast with a woman drowning at Shelly Beach, in Sydney a few days later and a man in his 20s drowned at Tallow Beach, Byron Bay the following day.

The number of drownings in Australia since December 1 has topped 50 for the first time in a number of years, horrifying Surf Life Saving Australia officials.

The death at Angourie was the 49th in the period from December 1 to January 14 and with at least three more deaths recorded in the ensuing week.

Surf Life Saving NSW

CEO Steve Pearce said the two beach drownings were a warning to all potential beachgoers.

“Every coastal drowning is a tragedy, but to have two in such a short space of time is a tough reflection on how risky it can be to enter the water,” he said.

“Once again, both of these drownings have occurred at unpatrolled locations and we really must reiterate that if you plan to visit the coastline, the safest thing you can do is head to a beach where you see the red and yellow flags flying.”

Clarence Valley mayor

Peter Johnstone said the region was saddened at the news of the teen’s death.

“The Clarence Valley has been deeply saddened by news of the tragic loss of life of a Sydney teenager at Angourie on Sunday,” he said in a press release.

“Although no words can soften the blow of such a loss, I wish to offer sincere condolences to the family and friends of the young man, on behalf of myself and the Clarence Valley community.

“Clarence Valley Council will continue to work with authorities on any inquiries relating to the incident.”

The death at Angourie occurred after the teen, believed to be on holiday in the area from Sydney, jumped from a rock ledge into the water at about 3pm on January 14.

He was not seen after that, sparking an intensive search involving police divers, surf life savers and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

Searchers found his body around 10pm the same day.

Police have not released his identity and they are preparing a report for the Coroner on the incident.

While drownings at Angourie’s green and blue pools were not common, locals have been worried about the behaviour of people visiting the pools.

In 2008 Angourie resident Grant Dwyer was interviewed in midJanuary after a 17-yearold was injured plunging down an eight-metre ledge at the green pool.

Mr Dwyer said he was concerned that something was about to go horribly wrong when he saw kids climbing and jumping from spots he had not seen used in the past 30 years.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. There were literally kids on every part of the cliff face,” he said at the time.

“I knew someone was going to get hurt. Kids were doing backflips without checking the depth of the water to see if it was safe.”

But serious problems have been rare with the only recent death in the pools occurring when the body of a 62-yer-old Yamba woman was found in the Blue Pool in 2008.

Clarence Valley Council has clearly signposted the area, which is close to the beach at Angourie.

“For the safety of all users of this beach, please observe the following warnings, regulations, and information symbols; large waves, strong currents, shallow water, sharks, steep walking track, slippery rocks, cliff edge/drop off, and deep water.

“This beach is unpatrolled, and users should be aware of prevailing dangerous beach conditions,”

“Persons swimming at this beach do so at their own risk.”

In addition the council monitors the water quality in the pools, which contain fresh water, for algal blooms.

In the past 20 years the council has closed the pools to swimmers a number of times because of poisonous algae growing in the water.

When the pools are closed, people can swim in the large saltwater rock pool beside the Blue Pool.

The two pools are manmade, although creating a spot destined to become the scene of rites of passage for the many

CONDE NAST TRAVELLERS BEST PLACES TO GO IN 2024

The Northern Rivers joins the likes of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, Santa Fe in New Mexico and Mongolia as one of Conde Nast Travellers 24 Best Places to Go in 2024! This list is a collaboration between Conde Nast Traveller editors from around the globe who have researched, debated and vetted from a large pool of fantastic cities, regions, and countries with new reasons to visit. This is the list of places they believe should be on every traveller’s radar for the year ahead. Go Northern Rivers!

15 BEST UNDERTHE-RADAR BEACH TOWNS IN AUSTRALIA

Delicious magazine has released their list of the Top 15 Under the Radar beach towns in Australia, with Kingscliff and Cresent Head topping the NSW contingent.

LISMORE SECURES of the region’s youth, was not something the makers had in mind.

In the 1890s the site was quarried for the massive stone blocks that made up the rock walls at Yamba.

Trains carried the stone to the site of the rock walls until the workers cracked open a freshwater spring.

Within days the quarries filled with fresh water, halting work and trapping the quarry machinery below the rising water is still there.

Locals reported there were times when the machinery was still visible.

GLOBAL TOURISM RANKING FOR 2024

Lismore has taken out a top tourism gong, listed as one of the world’s “Coolest Places to Visit in 2024” by Qantas Travel Insider magazine. The global carrier and iconic airline ranked Lismore as No 11, alongside New York, Shanghai, London and Venice as 25 must-see tourist destinations.

CAPER BYRON BAY

2024 Are you a local business in or around Byron Bay in the food, drinks, art or wellness space?

Expressions of Interest for Venue Events and Festival Village stall holders for Caper 2024, being held 17-26 May, are now open, with applications accepted until late January 2024. Caper Byron Bay is all about celebrating the incredible food community, talented creatives and beautiful region in a way that refects a vibrant Byron. caperbyronbay.com/ eoi-2024

Look

Funding & Other Opportunities

Contemporary Music Touring Program

The Contemporary Music Touring Program supports national touring activity undertaken by Australian musicians performing original Australian contemporary music. Closes 5 March 2024

Residents and visitors are asked to slow down and watch out for endangered coastal emus after the significant loss of an emu from a vehicle strike this month.

The Coastal Emu is a protected animal, both alive and dead. Please leave remains where they are for the appropriate authority to deal with and to allow cultural repatriation. We estimate fewer than 40 coastal emus remain in the population, so every measure we can take to protect them is important. A key threat to the population is vehicle strikes, with studies showing more than 60 emus have been killed by vehicles over the last 10 years.

Please heed the signs and the speed limit. You can help save the coastal emu by:

• reporting sightings of emus in the Clarence Valley Local Government Area via Clarence Valley Council’s online sightings register www. clarenceconversations. com.au/coastalemus;

• installing emufriendly fencing if you own land where emus roam; and https://business.gov.au/ grants-and-programs/ contemporary-musictouring-program

• be on high alert for emus on local roads and slow down.

Electric Vehicle Destination Charging Grants

The NSW Government are investing $20 million to assist eligible regional NSW businesses and councils by co-funding the purchase and installation of EV chargers at their site. Closes 3 May 2024 https://www.energy.nsw.gov. au/business-and-industry/ programs-grants-andschemes/electric-vehicles/ electric-vehicle-destination

Employer Incentives For Apprentices

The Australian Government offers a range of incentives to employers who hire apprentices, ranging from additional support for identified skill shortages, adult Australian apprentices, Australian apprentices with a disability and wage subsidies. https://www. apprenticeships.gov.au/

Community meetings to shape the future of Lismore:

Look Ahead with Living Lab Northern Rivers

Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 February Lismore City Bowling Club www.llnr.com.au/lookahead

Living Lab Northern Rivers is inviting the Lismore community and beyond to actively participate in shaping the future of the Lismore CBD with its ‘Look Ahead: Community design for Lismore’ design process. The process combines expert design, planning, engineering, and architectural insights with the lived experiences and future visions of the local community.

To begin Living Lab Northern Rivers is hosting two community meetings to give people an opportunity to share their ideas, dreams and needs for the future of the Lismore CBD. The community meetings will be held on Thursday 15 February, 4:30pm and Saturday 17 February, 2pm at Lismore City Bowling Club and are open to anyone who lives, works, is serviced by or is interested in the Lismore CBD and surrounding neighbourhoods. Due to the capacity of the venue, Living Lab Northern Rivers is asking people to register for one of the community meetings via their website at www.llnr.com.au/ lookahead.

Elizabeth Mossop, Academic Director at Living Lab Northern

Rivers, expressed the uniqueness of this opportunity, stating, “We’re bringing the absolute best expertise in design, planning, engineering, and architecture from around the country and locally to Lismore to look at all the issues around designing and rebuilding a better, more resilient CBD. Their work will be underpinned by the lived experience and future visions of people living in the Lismore community. This is a rare opportunity to be part of an independent, community-led design process to transform the Lismore CBD.” The panel includes many of Australia’s best urban design experts, some with family connections to the Northern Rivers region, including Nicole Gurran (University of Sydney), Ben Hendrix (Mecone), Sharon Wright (Hassell Studio), James Davidson (JDA), John Choi (CHROFI) and Jamie Simmonds (Water Technology). Together they’ll explore the ideas that come out of the first community meetings, developing them into specific scenarios that can guide Lismore’s future development. These senarios will be shared at further community meetings in May.

Dan Etheridge, Engagement Director at Living Lab Northern Rivers, highlighted the urgency and necessity of envisioning the future of Lismore, stating, “It’s time to look ahead to the future Lismore with our eyes wide open. We know that there will be more big rains in the future and our rivers will swell and top their banks. We know that rebuilding our spaces and places the same way as we always have is not going to cut it anymore. But do we know what kind of place we want this to be 20, 40, 60 years from now? How do we steer towards greatness if we have not been able to really envision where it is we want to be?”

Living Lab Northern Rivers will be working independently of the Lismore City Council process (which will focus on the entire local government area). However, the outcomes of ‘Look Ahead’ will be an important piece of work for their consideration. Living Lab Northern Rivers’ job is to make sure all the high-level research that it brings to the table is underpinned by lived experience, specifically for the Lismore CBD and surrounding neighbourhoods.