Ballina Information Blog

#$%&*&  hell! The Brits have banned the use of the word #$%&*&  in the Tourism Australia advertising campaign! That’s the one where the girl in the bikini, after spruiking about the delights of this great land, asks ‘So where the #$%&*&  hell are you?’ (yes, we know, if she was a fair dinkum Aussie sheila she woulda said ‘Where [...]

The old slipway site in Ballina, once a major employer in the town, looks set to be a hub of local employment once again with the construction of the Ramada Hotel Ballina. Member for Ballina Don Page turned the first sod on the site late last year to signal the start of construction of the [...]

NSW Fishing Monthly editor Tony Zann reports on the fishing activity … Mandy at Dave’s Bait Shop says outside reports have been encouraging with a few Spanish mackerel turning up at last on the inshore reefs such as the Lennox Pinnacle and down along the Riordans reefs. There’s also the odd cobia and some snapper [...]

  Gayathri Samarakoon, an Australian-based Sri Lankan-born journalist, sent us this report on her visit to an elephant orphanage in her home country … Leela, the baby elephant, was found swaying back and forth under a Mana tree next to the still corpse of her mother, bearing a gunshot wound on the right leg. Responding [...]

Tourism in Ballina and its surrounding regions has been given a boost by Jetstar, which has announced extra flights to Ballina-Byron Gateway Airport. As well as extra flights to Sydney, Jetstar has announced that there will be a new direct service to Melbourne. The new Jetstar schedule, to begin on March 28, includes: Melbourne to [...]

Some time tomorrow Jetstar’s Manager of Corporate Relations, Simon Westaway, along with Mayor of Ballina Shire, Cr Phil Silver will make an official announcement that Jetstar will become the first carrier to link up a service between Melbourne and Ballina Byron Gateway Airport. “To almost double our offering six months into operations and to introduce a brand new [...]