Iconic Motel sells to local bowling club

By Samantha Elley

The Pacific Motel in the main street of Evans Head’s new owners are the Evans Head Bowling Club.

The sale includes 16 rooms and pool, plus a separate three bedroom free standing “Art Deco” house which is also available for rental.

The combined land area is approximately 2,000m2.

General Manager of Evans Head Bowling Club, Roger Hong, said the purchase of the motel was a ‘no-brainer’ and a perfect fit for the accommodation side of their business.

“Knowing the income it would generate, we knew it would be ideal for our diversification strategy away from the bowling club, ensuring long-term viability,” he said.

“We won’t be doing any changes at this point in time as we are just running the business.

“We will do superficial upgrades, including all bookings online.”

Roger said the incentive was to keep money and jobs in town.

“Because we are a community-based organisation, every member (of the bowling club) has a share in what we do,” he said.

“We are providing for the community, where we put $3 million in wages back into the community and it stops big multi-nationals taking money out of the town.”

This same thinking was behind the purchase of the Evans Head Fish Co-operative and the Evans Head Surf Club’s Sand Bar restaurant and Sand Pit café, according to Roger.

“It ensures longevity,” he said.

“With the fish co-op we are bringing it up to date, ensuring it s heritage and legacy for the future.

“It’s the same with the surf club, as we provide employment to the kids who do patrols.”

While the next 12 months will be a ‘business-as-usual’ approach, Roger said there is talk of a Fishing Museum to showcase the history of the town and a brewery.

Watch this space.

For more local news, click here.

The Whitlams at Club Evans

The Whitlams are heading south from the Gold Coast in January and dropping into Evans Head to play Club Evans‘ first outdoor event, under the stars on a sultry summer night. With full concert stage and production this will be the perfect night to bring the whole family out for a spacious musical picnic.

Tim Freedman said, “I’ve surfed Evans Head, but never played the piano there, and this looks like a great space for a summer show. We have just finished a big national tour for the 25th Anniversary of our album Love This City, so there will be plenty from that album interspersed with our greatest hits like “No Aphrodisiac”.

The Whitlams are Tim Freedman on piano and vocals, Jak Housden on guitar, Terepai Richmond on drums, and newest member, Ian Peres, on Hammond organ and electric bass.

The Whitlams was a touring phenomenon long before their breakout 1997 hit “Eternal Nightcap”. They had forged a reputation as a brilliant live act on countless jaunts up and down the East Coast from 1993 to 1996, and last year decided to reinstitute the tradition each January. Join them for “Gone Coastal no. 2”.

Grab your tickets for the Whitlams here for Thursday the 2nd of January 2025 at Club Evans.

“The songs splash colours across a portrait of a lonesome, inner-city suburbia that few others can match for original detail and authenticity…. The Whitlams have never sounded even mildly like anybody else.” – The Newcastle Herald

For more local news, click here.

“Australian lightweight champion from lil ol’ Swan Bay”

By Samantha Elley

Maddog boxing’s Sunny McLean has been going from strength to strength this past year, grabbing titles from each of the events he has been fighting in.

Sunny McLean and his coach, Scott Smith, who runs Maddox Boxing, were recently picked to represent Queensland as the fighter and coach team to compete in the national titles in Gosford.

Sunny won all his elimination bouts and beat the NSW champion in the gold medal fight, to become the newly crowned Australian champion in the lightweight division.

They were surprised with a visit from Jason and Andrew Moloney, world champion professional boxers.

“Every state in Australia was there with all the best fighters and the (Moloney brothers) came to support us, so we felt so special,” said Scott.

“They came to help me prepare Sunny for his last two fights in this event.”

Sunny was competing for Queensland as he already holds the title of QLD/NSW interstate champion.

“His first opponent, the referee stopped the fight in the 3rd round,” said Scott.

“His second opponent was the favourite from Tasmania and Sunny won that fight to go through for the gold medal against the NSW champion.

“Andy (co-trainer) and I worked out a plan to beat him and Sunny did exactly what he was asked and never last control of the situation.

“He is now the Australian lightweight champion from lil ol Swan Bay.”

For more local news, click here.

Council decides not to appeal Iron Gates ruling

At its first ordinary meeting of the new term, Richmond Valley Council has formally decided not to proceed with an appeal against the NSW Land and Environment Court’s ruling on the Iron Gates subdivision proposal at Evans Head. The original ruling, made on 31 July, favoured Goldcoral Pty Ltd, granting approval for the contentious development.

The prior Council had lodged a Notice of Intention to Appeal to preserve the right to challenge the court’s decision. This measure was taken to allow the newly elected councillors an opportunity to thoroughly review the legal advice and consider whether an appeal would be warranted.

General Manager Vaughan Macdonald

General Manager Vaughan Macdonald explained that, following detailed deliberation and expert legal advice, the Council determined that pursuing an appeal would not serve the best interests of the community nor be a responsible use of resources.

“Independent legal advice from Senior Counsel Jason Lazarus concluded that an appeal would not have reasonable prospects of success under s57(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979,” Mr. Macdonald said. “The only grounds for appeal would involve errors of law under the Act, and even if the appeal were successful, it would not necessarily prevent future development on the site.”

Mr. Macdonald expressed the Council’s disappointment with the court’s decision but emphasized that the focus should now shift to ensuring that any future development aligns with the community’s long-term vision and needs.

“Council believes that our resources are better spent working towards ensuring the development is carried out in a way that reflects our community’s goals, rather than engaging in an appeal that could still result in development on the site,” he said.

With the decision not to appeal, the Council will now focus on engaging with the developer and relevant stakeholders to ensure that the project is executed responsibly. This includes enforcing compliance with environmental regulations, ensuring alignment with infrastructure plans, and integrating community feedback throughout the process.

Mr. Macdonald also mentioned that Council is exploring the possibility of levying charges on future residents to cover the additional maintenance costs that may arise as a result of the development.

“We are committed to advocating for the best outcomes for all residents,” Mr. Macdonald added. “This includes maintaining open communication with the developer and addressing community concerns as the project progresses.”

The Council’s decision not to appeal reflects a pragmatic approach to balancing legal realities with the broader goal of managing development in a way that serves the interests of the Richmond Valley community.

$5 million for our rivers and catchment areas

By Samantha Elley

Thanks to a grant from the NSW Government the rivers in the Northern Rivers will be getting a ‘make over’.

Called the Northern Rivers Watershed Initiative, it involves initiating shovel-ready projects to improve water quality in the Tweed, Brunswick, Richmond and Evans river catchments.

“I am delighted to be announcing the funding of $5 million for the Northern Rivers Watershed Initiative,” said Lismore state member, Janelle Saffin.

“It’s a whole series of projects, it operates across six local government areas from Lismore, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Ballina, Tweed, Byron.

“We’ve talked about doing repair and we’ve talked about the Watershed Initiative for a long time and Rous County Council did a lot of work on it.”

The funding became an election commitment which has now come to fruition, according to Ms Saffin.

Works will start in  October, 2024 and is based on the application of a range of natural flood management techniques across the Northern Rivers.

Key projects include:

• Working with macadamia farmers on orchard floor management, water sensitive drainage and soil stabilisation.
• Improvements in waterway condition to establish self-sustaining vegetated buffer zones including weed removal, cattle exclusion and planting 10,000 trees.

Jeremy Stewart, Whian Whian Landcare, Garry Lambert, landholder with wife Margaret, State MP Janelle Saffin, Anthony Acret, Rous County Council and Joseph Leven, Casino Food Co-operative.

This is a major partnership between Rous County Council, Lismore City Council, Richmond Valley Council, Kyogle, Tweed, Byron and Ballina Shire Councils, North coast Local Land Services and the Northern Co-operative Meat Company.

“We are backed by a whole catchment community that is really motivated,” said Anthony Acret, Catchment Assets Manager at Rous County Council.

“We’ve got landcare groups, first nations groups, community organisations that are doing a lot of this work themselves and its great to be able to work with them in partnerships to generate these sorts of outcomes.

“And of course we can’t do this work without partnerships with landholders.”

Garry Lambert is one of those landholders who owns acreage at Boatharbour.

“My interest of course is the land around us but I am a member of the community,” said Mr Lamber, former mayor of Darwin.

“You don’t have to be a scientist to look down at that creek and see the degradation that has happened over many years. That’s the history of farming.

“There’s now a movement to bring some vitality back to these waterways and make them much more productive.”

Mr Lamber said he and his wife were working at regenerative farming practices.

“This is just a perfect way of making sure we can be sustainable, that maximise capacity of the land,” he said.

“But still keeping production happening, because we still need to feed people, still need employment for people but we need to manage the environment.”

For more local news, click here.