Ballina Information Blog

There was a special moment in Alstonville’s history this week when the first sod was turned to mark the beginning of the construction of the town’s bypass. Plans for the bypass were first drawn up in the 1960s, and there have been many promises and many disappointments for bypass campaigners in that time. But a [...]

Ballina Shire’s annual Heritage Festival is up and running for 2009 and will continue until April 19. Mayor Phillip Silver says Ballina Shire is a popular spot for families and retirees wanting to escape the hustle of city life, and many new residents are not aware of the rich natural and social heritage of the [...]

The fourth Our Kids Day Out will be held on Sunday 19 April from 9am until 2pm at Missingham Bridge amphitheatre, Ballina. The day promises lots of fun for the whole family with a range of live entertainment, including the Ronald MacDonald Show, NBN Big Dog, Reptile Awareness, Sillies Billies, Dhinawan Dreaming and Magical Clowns, [...]

Lennox Head Chamber of Commerce is asking businesses if they would like to become single-use plastic bag-free. The chamber said the move followed a presentation from Australian Sea Bird Rescue and interested individuals, which prompted it to support a project that would reduce, and hopefully eradicate, the demand for single-use plastic carry bags in Lennox [...]

Six schools in the Ballina Shire area will share grants totalling more than $1 million under the National School Pride program. The allocations are: Alstonville High School $200,000 Alstonville Primary School $200,000 Ballina High School $200,000 Ballina Primary School $150,000 Lennox Head Primary School $150,000 Southern Cross School, East Ballina $200,000 Fernleigh Public School $50,00 [...]

New Lennox Head resident Tyler Wright is the world Under-18 women’s surfing champion. Tyler, whose family moved from the South Coast to Lennox recently, won the title in Ecuador on Monday. She was part of a dramatic come-from-behind victory as Team Australia was crowned the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Champions in Salinas, Ecuador. [...]

Local school children will be able to explain what climate change means to them in a new competition for students from Grades 3 to 9. The Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, Greg Combet MP, and Member the Page, Janelle Saffin yesterday announced the competition – Think Climate Think Change – during a visit to Ballina [...]

Ballina Shire Council will hold an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, April 8, to consider a rescission motion on fluoridation of the water supply. Councillors voted at their last meeting to adopt fluoridation, but their decision to do so without community consultation sparked vocal opposition. Crs Keith Johnson, David Wright and Alan Brown have lodged the [...]

Refurbishment of the Ballina Police Station has resulted in ‘standard operational procedures’ for the officers who work there. Ballina MP Don Page says he is relieved to see the Ballina station has received the much-needed works to rectify the structural deficiencies which led to the closure of the charge room and cell complex last year. [...]

Seen about town during daylight hours on Monday was a group of about five or six young men in dressing gowns. They attracted much interest as they happily paraded around parts of Ballina’s main street. No doubt the fellas couldn’t give a you-know-what about what people thought — they were a cheery group and had [...]