17 C
Byron Shire
November 7, 2026

Bodi Hugin junior world tour win

Latest News

Third person dies after Suffolk Park crash

A 70-year-old woman has died in hospital after a three-vehicle crash at Suffolk Park last weekend, bringing the death toll to three.

Other News

Ghouls just want to have fun

Brunswick Heads Public School just held another fantastic Halloween Fair to raise funds for the school, in a celebration of creativity, hard work and spookiness.

Haven turns one: a three-day celebration

Haven’s story starts with a supermarket. The venue at 102 Jonson Street occupies the former Woolworths building, a site presented as a temporary home for music and community, before the building is eventually redeveloped. Instead of hiding that impermanence, the team made it the point. The space was built entirely from salvaged materials, turning a commercial site into a cultural one which is reminiscent of a futuristic Pan-Asian set from Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell.

Our rates, infrastructure and future

It’s time for our community to come together with purpose and demand accountability. Residents have legitimate questions about cumulative...

Ballina’s arts attitude

At last week’s Ballina Shire Council meeting, I moved a motion that Ballina Council rejoin the Arts Northern Rivers...

New approach needed for Northern Rivers public transport says Cadwallader

It is the age-old story – the lack of public transport across the Northern Rivers that leads to high car ownership and a failure of local and regional public transport infrastructure and use.

Byron proposes limits on putting residents’ personal information into AI

Byron Shire Council is proposing restrictions on entering residents’ personal and health information into artificial intelligence tools, with exceptions requiring an approved privacy assessment or the individual’s consent.

Future Pros 2026 winner, Bodi Hugin in a barrel. Image by Tim Oliver Photography

Byron Bay bodyboarder Bodi Hugin has won the Australian leg of the International Bodyboarding Committee (IBC) Junior World Tour Rising Series after an outstanding performance at the City of Gold Coast Future Pro’s.

Held across 11 and 12 July at Duranbah Beach there were two days of competition in excellent conditions. Competitors took to the waves to try to secure valuable IBC Junior World Tour points and qualification towards the IBC Junior Men Grand Final in Spain.

In the championship both Hugin and Chase Thompson traded scores throughout an intense battle before Hugin claimed victory. In a thrilling final, 18-year-old Hugin defeated Port Macquarie’s Thompson by just 0.36 points to become the 2026 Future Pro’s champion. The final competition results saw Bodi Hugin in first place ahead of Chase Thompson, while Ossian Mackenzie and Archie Williams shared third place.



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.

If you are a local business owner help us and in turn we help you. All The Echo asks for is advertising, not a free ride. It is every advert in The Echo and on www.echo.net.au, which creates the space for all the stories and coverage of community events, happenings and concerns.

If you are a reader you can become a sponsor of The Echo. Your support keeps the us independent.

Even a small one-off or regular donation from you will help keep the echo’s independent voice alive and strong.

Support Us

Become one of the supporters who helps keep independent, local journalism alive in the Byron Shire by contributing anything from as little as the cost of a coffee each month.

You're Wonderful, Thank you for supporting independent journalism in the Byron Shire

You’re supporting The Echo, thank you

Your contribution is keeping independent, local journalism alive in the Northern Rivers.

Because of supporters like you, we can keep every story free for everyone — no paywall, no exceptions. Your money goes directly to funding our newsroom of 40-odd local workers covering the stories that matter to this community.

Tell us what you think, give us your opinion

The Echo loves your letters and comments and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, email us your epistles at editor@echo.net.au.

The letters deadline for The Echo is noon Friday. Letters longer than 200 words may be cut. The publication of letters is at the discretion of the letters editor. Please remember to include your full name, address and telephone number.

Online comments are no longer available.

NSW commits $3 million for Saddle Road sewer link

The NSW Government will spend $3 million on a sewer link for the Saddle Road housing precinct near Brunswick Heads, a connection it says could service up to 600 residential lots.

Blacks Drain crossing fully reopens after $2.56 million rebuild

The Blacks Drain crossing on Tweed Valley Way at South Murwillumbah has fully reopened after a $2.56 million rebuild designed to reduce the risk of another washout.

From Spinifex Country to Lismore for a $23,000 art prize

In Michelle Anderson’s Kanpala, circles of red, orange and yellow bring a place in Western Australia’s Spinifex Country into view. It’s a place she returns to often in paint: Kanpa, the Country where her grandmother was born.

Work starts on eight-lane athletics track in Lismore

Construction has begun on an eight-lane athletics track at Southern Cross University’s Lismore campus, giving Northern Rivers schools and clubs a competition-standard venue closer to home when it opens in mid-2027.