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Byron Shire
June 17, 2026

David Lovejoy

David Lovejoy arrived in Australia in 1971, after travelling overland (mostly) from England. He helped found The Echo in 1986 and has played many roles in the newspaper’s history. Now officially retired, he still occasionally fills in for sick or holidaying staff in between attending chess tournaments. He has accumulated a son, a daughter, three grandchildren and three cats. In addition to his Echo articles David has written a memoir and two historical novels. See www.pelagius.com.au for more.

Showing content from:David Lovejoy

Editorial

Editorial – Local leadership vacuum

David Lovejoy - 1
The delays in holding Council elections are frustrating, the more so because what we have seen during the long period since the last vote has been an experiment in governing by the zen method of no government.
Read more
Editorial

Do only losers have honour?

David Lovejoy - 7
There’s a sense in the air that a culture change may be on the way. The need for change has become abundantly clear since the notion of honour disappeared from public life.
Read more
Editorial

Editorial – Fossil fools buy seats at leadership table

David Lovejoy - 11
Conspiracy theories abound these days. Most of them are feeble balloons that can be popped with one or two sharp facts, but a few contain some truth.
Read more
Editorial

Rabbit holes distract from truth seeking

David Lovejoy - 15
There I was last week, reading the latest Echo, nodding in agreement with Phillip Frazer, smiling at Mandy’s column, shaking my head over the weird Trump equals Julius Caesar article, when I was suddenly brought to a halt by page 10.
Read more
Editorial

Musings on a decaying Republic, old and new

David Lovejoy - 9
This is one last head-scratch about Donald Trump and the American political paroxysm before the forty-fifth president drags himself, or is dragged, away.
Read more
National News

Mungo puts down his pen

David Lovejoy - 0
For over 31 years, Mungo MacCallum has written a column of political commentary for this newspaper, for the most part on this page, opposite this space.
Read more
Editorial

Why we should spare that tree

David Lovejoy - 1
Measures to protect koala habitat have been diluted by the NSW government following a National Party campaign backed mainly by developers fearing the impact of tree preservation on their profits.
Read more
Byron Echo

The loss of local newspapers and what it means to the North Coast

David Lovejoy - 9
How dare this American billionaire destroy so many vital community assets in Australia for the sake of saving a fraction of one per cent of his fortune.
Read more
Editorial

After the plague

David Lovejoy - 3
Not being able to socialise, or go to work, or be abroad for any but officially approved purposes certainly gives a body room to think.
Read more
Byron Echo

Brain dissection for everyone

David Lovejoy - 4
As I contemplated my seventy-fifth Christmas through the bottom of a glass, I realised that I still have no idea how my mind works. Or if it is ‘my’ mind. Or even if there is such a thing as ‘mind’
Read more
Byron Echo

Whatever you do, don’t mention Hitler

David Lovejoy - 23
It is an observation so universally acknowledged that it has its own name: Godwin’s Law. It refers to the inevitability of Hitler being invoked in the course of any heated political discussion.
Read more
Byron Echo

All aboard the Extinction Express

David Lovejoy - 28
Something has changed in the climate crisis argument…
Read more
Editorial

Editorial: The dice are loaded

David Lovejoy - 0
The Regional Planning Panel (RPP) booked the Byron Theatre last week in order to give local people the opportunity to let off steam with verbal objections to the West Byron development proposal.
Read more
Letters

Three-way tussle for hospital

David Lovejoy - 0
Lyn Dickinson, Pottsville According to the NSW Government North Coast Regional Plan, it was always intended that the Tweed Heads hospital be refurbished, retained and...
Read more
Articles & Columns

The end of fun: David Lovejoy concludes the story of the The Echo’s early years

David Lovejoy - 1
While the drama of general manager Max Eastcott’s departure was playing out, The Echo passed its tenth birthday, and we marked the jubilee with a fourth awards night.
Read more
Articles & Columns

How do you dismiss a general manager?

David Lovejoy - 0
Founding editor Nicholas Shand returned from his long-service leave at the end of March, 1996. He was highly amused at the comic opera scenario playing out in Council, and at The Echo’s unavoidable central role in it.
Read more
Articles & Columns

The danger of delegated authority as The Echo gambles its reputation on a town planner

David Lovejoy - 0
When in February 1996 Fast Buck$ obtained a file that described a developer in Byron Bay obtaining preferential treatment from Council, he published an advertisement in The Echo headed, ‘Something stinks at Hog’s Breath’.
Read more
Articles & Columns

Changing Council and premises

David Lovejoy - 1
By the election of September 1995 most people had had enough of Cr Ross Tucker and his crew. Although at that stage the evidence of the colossal mismanagement of Council’s planning and finances had yet to emerge
Read more
Articles & Columns

Ross and Max to the fore: Dirty tactics key to undermining the opposition

David Lovejoy - 1
As the Club Med battle described in the previous episode approached its climax, the leader of Council’s conservatives, Ross Tucker, decided on a diversion.
Read more
Articles & Columns

Club Med and the Gang of Six

David Lovejoy - 2
By the beginning of 1993 The Echo had outgrown its A4 page size, and our first large-format edition appeared in March that year. The increased work combined with the ritual of putting the paper to bed on Monday nights became quite stressful.
Read more
Articles & Columns

Re-zoning back on the agenda: Beating off the Academy rort

David Lovejoy - 1
During the 1987–91 term of Council an application was made to develop a large site at Broken Head as an ‘academy’.
Read more
Editorial

Editorial – Local leadership vacuum

David Lovejoy - 1
The delays in holding Council elections are frustrating, the more so because what we have seen during the long period since the last vote has been an experiment in governing by the zen method of no government.
Read more
Editorial

Do only losers have honour?

David Lovejoy - 7
There’s a sense in the air that a culture change may be on the way. The need for change has become abundantly clear since the notion of honour disappeared from public life.
Read more
Editorial

Editorial – Fossil fools buy seats at leadership table

David Lovejoy - 11
Conspiracy theories abound these days. Most of them are feeble balloons that can be popped with one or two sharp facts, but a few contain some truth.
Read more
Editorial

Rabbit holes distract from truth seeking

David Lovejoy - 15
There I was last week, reading the latest Echo, nodding in agreement with Phillip Frazer, smiling at Mandy’s column, shaking my head over the weird Trump equals Julius Caesar article, when I was suddenly brought to a halt by page 10.
Read more
Editorial

Musings on a decaying Republic, old and new

David Lovejoy - 9
This is one last head-scratch about Donald Trump and the American political paroxysm before the forty-fifth president drags himself, or is dragged, away.
Read more
National News

Mungo puts down his pen

David Lovejoy - 0
For over 31 years, Mungo MacCallum has written a column of political commentary for this newspaper, for the most part on this page, opposite this space.
Read more
Editorial

Why we should spare that tree

David Lovejoy - 1
Measures to protect koala habitat have been diluted by the NSW government following a National Party campaign backed mainly by developers fearing the impact of tree preservation on their profits.
Read more
Byron Echo

The loss of local newspapers and what it means to the North Coast

David Lovejoy - 9
How dare this American billionaire destroy so many vital community assets in Australia for the sake of saving a fraction of one per cent of his fortune.
Read more
Editorial

After the plague

David Lovejoy - 3
Not being able to socialise, or go to work, or be abroad for any but officially approved purposes certainly gives a body room to think.
Read more
Byron Echo

Brain dissection for everyone

David Lovejoy - 4
As I contemplated my seventy-fifth Christmas through the bottom of a glass, I realised that I still have no idea how my mind works. Or if it is ‘my’ mind. Or even if there is such a thing as ‘mind’
Read more
Byron Echo

Whatever you do, don’t mention Hitler

David Lovejoy - 23
It is an observation so universally acknowledged that it has its own name: Godwin’s Law. It refers to the inevitability of Hitler being invoked in the course of any heated political discussion.
Read more
Byron Echo

All aboard the Extinction Express

David Lovejoy - 28
Something has changed in the climate crisis argument…
Read more
Editorial

Editorial: The dice are loaded

David Lovejoy - 0
The Regional Planning Panel (RPP) booked the Byron Theatre last week in order to give local people the opportunity to let off steam with verbal objections to the West Byron development proposal.
Read more
Letters

Three-way tussle for hospital

David Lovejoy - 0
Lyn Dickinson, Pottsville According to the NSW Government North Coast Regional Plan, it was always intended that the Tweed Heads hospital be refurbished, retained and...
Read more
Articles & Columns

The end of fun: David Lovejoy concludes the story of the The Echo’s early years

David Lovejoy - 1
While the drama of general manager Max Eastcott’s departure was playing out, The Echo passed its tenth birthday, and we marked the jubilee with a fourth awards night.
Read more
Articles & Columns

How do you dismiss a general manager?

David Lovejoy - 0
Founding editor Nicholas Shand returned from his long-service leave at the end of March, 1996. He was highly amused at the comic opera scenario playing out in Council, and at The Echo’s unavoidable central role in it.
Read more
Articles & Columns

The danger of delegated authority as The Echo gambles its reputation on a town planner

David Lovejoy - 0
When in February 1996 Fast Buck$ obtained a file that described a developer in Byron Bay obtaining preferential treatment from Council, he published an advertisement in The Echo headed, ‘Something stinks at Hog’s Breath’.
Read more
Articles & Columns

Changing Council and premises

David Lovejoy - 1
By the election of September 1995 most people had had enough of Cr Ross Tucker and his crew. Although at that stage the evidence of the colossal mismanagement of Council’s planning and finances had yet to emerge
Read more
Articles & Columns

Ross and Max to the fore: Dirty tactics key to undermining the opposition

David Lovejoy - 1
As the Club Med battle described in the previous episode approached its climax, the leader of Council’s conservatives, Ross Tucker, decided on a diversion.
Read more
Articles & Columns

Club Med and the Gang of Six

David Lovejoy - 2
By the beginning of 1993 The Echo had outgrown its A4 page size, and our first large-format edition appeared in March that year. The increased work combined with the ritual of putting the paper to bed on Monday nights became quite stressful.
Read more
Articles & Columns

Re-zoning back on the agenda: Beating off the Academy rort

David Lovejoy - 1
During the 1987–91 term of Council an application was made to develop a large site at Broken Head as an ‘academy’.
Read more
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