19.3 C
Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Bend it like the Byron Bay Banana Man

Latest News

Govt cost-shifting ‘erodes financially sustainable local government’

Byron Shire Council looks set to add its voice to the growing chorus calling on the state government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto local government.

Other News

Dynamic, rustic yet polished

Animal Ventura is the brainchild of Byron Bay-based singer-songwriter Fernando Aragones. Growing up playing punk and reggae in noisy garage bands in Southern Brazil, Aragones ventured to Australia where the eclectic sounds of the Sydney music scene beckoned.

Cinema: Wicked Little Letters

Based on a true scandal that stunned 1920s England, Wicked Little Letters centres on neighbours Edith Swan and Rose Gooding in the seaside town of Littlehampton.

Breakfeast, Bluesfest weekend

Victoria Cosford Oh to be a cow with a four-chambered stomach system! Farmers’ market, Bluesfest long weekend, a spot of...

New report highlights gaps in rural and remote health

The second annual Royal Flying Doctor Service ‘Best for the Bush, Rural and remote Health Base Line’ report has just been released. Presenting the latest data on the health of rural and remote Australians and evidence on service gaps, it identifies issues in urgent need of attention from service providers, funders, partners and policy makers.

Peter Garrett gives Bluesfest the nod

If I say the words ‘US Forces give the nod’, I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear the unmistakable voice of Peter Garrett ringing in your ears. Your head may even start to bob up and down a bit. 

Adaptive Surf Pro winds up in Byron

A week of mixed weather had seen almost 100 adaptive surfers take on the beaches of Byron Bay in the Byron first international adaptive surfing event to be held in Australia – the 2024 Australian Pro.

Craig ‘Banana Man’ Evans at the Byron Farmers Market. Photo Elize Strydom.

It’s not surprising that Craig Evans is affectionately known as the Byron Bay Banana Man. After all, he’s been a familiar face at Byron Farmers Market for more than 15 years, selling his locally grown bananas.

His stall is not difficult to spot, with a banana-plastered surfboard out the front. The reason? It marries his two great loves – farming and surfing.

‘It’s 20 minutes from my farm to the sea – it’s magic,’ says Craig. ‘I can be surfing in the morning, then up working on the farm in the afternoon.’

But behind Craig’s relaxed and easy-going nature is a commitment to both the land and the ocean. ‘One of the biggest wake-up calls for me with being a farmer is also being a surfer – and especially with the short distance between the ocean and my farm. On the way from the surf to the farm, I follow the river from the sea to the mountain. The top of the stream is on the mountain and it leads into the ocean, so I have a big responsibility about what goes into that stream and ends up in the ocean.’

With no family connection to the land, Craig fell into farming by default. When he first came to Byron Bay over 30 years ago, his stop was the hospitality industry, but that and a young family was not an ideal mix, so he decided to make the change.

After working on farms from north Queensland to Victoria, Craig settled back on a banana farm in the Byron hinterland. Only a matter of years later, his boss signed the lease over to Craig.

That was 17 years ago, and the only thing that has really changed in that time is how Craig sells his bananas.

‘I was originally boxing up bananas and sending them off to the wholesale produce markets in Brisbane and Sydney, which wasn’t very satisfying. Then when a cyclone hit up north and there was demand for locally grown bananas so I joined Byron Farmers Market. I still get a kick out of going to the markets. I love that I grow the bananas and sell them directly to the person eating them, being able to look them in the eye and have a chat.’

The Byron Farmers Market is held every Thursday 7am–11am at the Cavanbah Centre and Bangalow Farmers Market is every Saturday morning 7–11am behind the Bangalow Pub.


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Saddle Road group home DA decision this week

Plans to build Byron Shire’s first permanent group home for women and children in housing stress are moving ahead, with the development application for the project coming before Council this week.

A health check as Medicare turns 40

If you’ll forgive the earnest tone, I’d like to propose a toast. To a friend who’s almost always there when you need them most. To a system that aims to treat people fairly and respectfully. 

Byron Council staff baulk at councillors’ promise of free parking for locals

Will Byron Council deliver on its pledge to make parking permits free for locals across the Shire when paid parking comes into force in Brunswick Heads?

Carrying and passing the torch

If I say the words ‘US Forces give the nod’, I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear the unmistakable voice of Peter Garrett ringing in your ears. Your head may even start to bob up and down a bit.