Have lived in and out of Byron for the last 30 years and have seen it change and spit us out then lure us back, then spit us out again. Wrote this ‘fairytale’ today. Think a lot of people could relate to it!
Byron Bay: A fairytale in five parts:
Part 1
Once upon a time in a land by the sea there lived a group of brown-skinned people. They loved the land, they cared for the land. They loved each other, they cared for each other.
They were happy.
Part 2
One day a group of pink-skinned people appeared. ‘We will live here too,’ they said. ‘We will use the land and the sea’, and ‘we will build farms and factories,’ they said. ‘We will make things better’.
But it wasn’t better for the brown-skinned people and most of them had to leave.
Part 3
One day another group of pink-skinned people wearing colourful clothes arrived. ‘This is a great place to find ourselves,’ they said. They loved the land, some of them cared for the land. They loved the plants, they smoked some of them. They played bongos.
They were happy.
Part 4
One day another group of pink-skinned people arrived. ‘We are investors,’ they said. ‘We will develop the land and the sea’, and ‘we will build shops and hotels and beautiful, new houses,’ they said. ‘We will make it better.’
But it wasn’t better for the pink-skinned people who wore colourful clothes and most of them had to leave.
Part 5
One day yet another group of pink-skinned people arrived. Some were investors, some were developers and some were even corporations. ‘We will buy the houses for holidaymakers and build boutique hotels. We will invite chain stores too,’ they said.
‘We will make it better’.
But it wasn’t better for most of the regular people who still lived there and most of them had to leave.
Part 6?
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
