BayFM 99.9 is an eccentric, eclectic, vibrant radio station that I've been proud to be involved with since 2021. It's run by a dedicated team of volunteers who put in hours of time in for the love of the frequency.
This year I decided to heed the call and step up to the auspicious role of President, carrying on the baton from the wonderful Ange Kent who happily stays onboard with her show The Northern Rivers Music Box and other special projects.
Broadcasting out into communities across the Byron Shire and beyond, the Station celebrates 35 years on the local airwaves this year and origin stories are flowing from some of our legendary knowledge keepers.
It all started in an old wooden hut that had to be relocated to the nearby Butler Street Reserve when the Community Centre got an upgrade. There were wild street festivals, one where a police car was overturned because it had parked on top of a fire hydrant and New Years Eve revellers were thirsty. Summer in Byron is hot and the pubs closed at midnight so they couldn't get any water because the police had also taken away all the street taps. Sometimes resistance is a matter of survival.
Prohibitive insurance costs have made those kinds of parties a thing of the past, as have Council regulations about numbers of tourists in the iconic town but we're keen to see what we can do to keep the Byron vibe alive through a series of smaller more frequent events.
We're now based in the Byron Bay Community Centre which celebrates 130 years of operation this year. It's the old school heart of town where our team of around 60 presenters come to share their passions with local listeners and other ears all around the globe via our streaming platform bayfm.org.
It's a real honour to represent such a cool organisation and I extend an invitation to you wherever you are to turn on, tune in, chill out.