The push for a new Byron Bay jetty

JETTIES have a strong historical connection with Byron Bay and sporadically the idea of building a new jetty gets a public airing.

The biggest push I recall in my time with the Northern Star and Byron News was in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

There were still plenty of people around who had fond memories of the ‘new’ jetty at Belongil Beach, built in 1928, which was partially destroyed by a cyclone in 1954 and which was modified  that year to accommodate whaling.

However, whaling stopped in 1962 and with the jetty suffering more storm damage in 1963, it eventually was demolished in 1972.

The ‘old’  jetty, which extended out in to the bay at a point near today’s swimming pool at Main Beach was built in 1888, but by 1928 it was too small to handle bigger ships leading to the construction of the ‘new’ jetty.

The ‘old’ jetty was demolished in 1947, but piles remained under the surface of the water until the mid-1980s when specialist divers with expertise in explosives were called in to demolish them.

I can remember the divers involved in the job coming into the café we owned back then for lunch. Others may well remember the explosions.

In the context of trying to find a solution to the then growing conflict between swimmers, surfers and boat users at The Pass, (See The Battle of The Pass) the push for a modern Byron Bay jetty was given a major boost in October, 1990 when State Member for Ballina, Don Page, said the government would look at  giving some support for the project.

But Mr Page emphasised that the majority of funding for a jetty would have to come from private enterprise.

He said he had already spoken to Public Works Minister, Wal Murray, about the proposal, but any move for a jetty depended on support from the local community.

If there was strong support for a jetty, he would encourage the government to call for expressions of interest from the private sector, he said.

Initially, the government would look at an arrangement where private enterprise would build it and get a reasonable return on it.

Mr Page said a jetty could reduce congestion at The Pass as dive boats and other boats could use the jetty to tie up during the day.

A jetty, he said, would be popular with recreational anglers, local families and tourists, and could possibly help to reduce beach erosion.

Byron Shire president, Cr Ian Kingston, said while he had not formed an opinion either way on a new jetty, what he didn’t want to see was a marina ‘of any size’.

President of the Byron Bay Chamber of Commerce, Lindsay Smith-Moir, said he could not see too many objections to a jetty being built.

The Byron Bay community got its chance to have a say on the proposal at a public meeting at the Byron Bay Bowling Club on November 19.

More than 150 people – and I was one of them – packed into the club with the overwhelming majority backing the idea.

Some people did have reservations, but most speakers said a jetty would be a boon to the town, agreeing that it would also help ease the conflict at The Pass.

The reservations related to the ability of a jetty to withstand big seas, its affect on erosion, what sort of commercial development would be needed to make the jetty economically viable and whether residents would have to pay to walk on the jetty.

Two possible sites for a jetty were thrown up – one near the old meatworks at Belongil Beach and the other near the site of the original jetty.

Mr Page made it clear the government would not be giving developers ‘huge chunks’ of Crown land for a jetty development.

Regional director of the Public Works Department, Forster Rayward, said designing a new jetty for Byron Bay would be ‘quite an engineering feat’.

He said the coastline had a very high wave energy and the beach was diminishing each year.

A committee was formed, but not a great deal happened until February, 1993, when Byron Council formed committees to look at the jetty plan and also an option to open the mouth of Belongil Creek to give boats permanent access to the sea.

Councillors received a report from a Gold Coast consultant who had investigated the jetty’s feasibility.

The consultant recommended a jetty be built adjacent to the groyne at Main Beach, with provision for a boat ramp.

He estimated the cost of a jetty 200m long and five metres wide at just under $1 million.

Cr Bob Higgins said a jetty would give Byron Bay a boost, however, Cr Rhonda Ellis, said the consultant’s $1000 report was ‘not worth twopence’ and it showed contempt for the people of the town.

Byron Bay environmental group, BEACON, condemned as a waste of time and money the council’s decision to further investigate the jetty proposal.

The group slammed the proposal as ‘environmentally and economically damaging and also ill-considered,’.

BEACON president, Dr Jim Croft, said the council seemed intent on changing the Byron Shire into a cross between Sydney’s western suburbs and Luna Park.

“This thoughtless project will turn away tourists coming to experience Byron Bay for what it is,” said Dr Croft.

I can’t  recall too much else happening on the jetty proposal in following years, with the impetus for a jetty eventually fizzling out.

I believe it was a good idea at the time, but would it get the same support today? I don’t think so.

But if, as Jim Croft suggested, a jetty would turn tourists away, there would be people out there who would say, ‘bring it on’