Ballina Information Blog

A foster care couple from the Ballina area have been congratulated for their outstanding commitment to helping children and young people by Community Services Minister Linda Burney.
Shelley and Paul Giltrap were presented with medals to recognise their role as foster carers at a special celebration to mark Foster Care Week 2008, which runs from 14 [...]

Peter ‘Barney’ Boland, centre, flanked by Allan Lane and David Hoey, checks the quality of the trophy after their horse, Trick On Track, won last Sunday’s $25,000 Casino RSM Club Casino Cup (1400m).
The Gary Neilsen-trained seven-year-old Trick On Track was ridden by Emily Kehoe and won by three-quarters of a length.
Trick On Track had a [...]

East Ballina Post Office licensee Alison Campbell has been honoured by Australia Post for her charity work.
Alison has been named a winner of the Australia Post Community Champion Award for her dedicated involvement with Animal Rights and Rescue Group.
Alison volunteers her time making dog coats to sell and raise much-needed funds for the group.
Generally Alison [...]

We are inviting you to tell us about your most memorable Mothers Day.
We did think about calling it “What Mothers Day means to me” but only briefly because that has already been done to death and we thought we could all have a bit of fun here… and to do that we need you to [...]

Congratulations to East Ballina couple John and Victoria Kennedy, who today celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
The Kennedy’s family and friends gathered at the Lennox Head Bowling Club to mark their April 19 anniversary.
John said he went on a blind date in Broken Hill and realised that he had met Victoria a year before.
True love blossomed [...]

Two Ballina Shire residents are in the running for the inaugural NSW Volunteer of the Year Award after being announced Northern Rivers Regional winners.
Marie Jane Taylor, of Wardell, was named as Northern Rivers Volunteer of the Year. Marie Jane has for more than 30 years been supporting people with a stoma.
Also honoured was Youth Volunteer [...]

 
The equine influenza outbreak has robbed Ballina man Vic Gwynne of the chance to see a horse he part-owns contest the ‘big three’ of the Melbourne spring racing carnival.
Vic, along with his brothers Errol, of Sydney, and Peter, of the Gold Coast, are members of a 14-person syndicate which races Empires Choice, winner of this [...]

 
Ballina’s Barry Regan is a true saltwater man.
The 78-year-old who has twice beaten leukaemia had his first surf at Curl Curl in Sydney in about 1943.
These days he’s still surfing — and what’s more, he’s still making his own surfboards.
But they’re not your usual foam and fibreglass boards: These boards are the old 16-foot (about [...]

Local piper Graham Broadhead will be among those performing at this year’s Retravision Northern League grand final at Kingsford Smith Park, Ballina, on Sunday, September 16.
Graham, also known as G’Bro, is well-known to Ballina Shire residents as editor of the weekly newspaper, The Advocate.
But he hasn’t always been a newspaperman. Graham’s first job was as an [...]

Name: Melanie Doriean.
Occupation: Currently Labor Candidate for the seat of Ballina and otherwise a project officer in the Department of Education and Training.
Do you have any hobbies?
I love reading, discussing ideas, walking, singing in a local choral group, spending time with my family.
How long have you lived in the Ballina electorate?
My husband and I [...]