CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Heartbreak has struck Byron Bay this week, as the humble coastal town comes to term with the irreparable damage caused to their community by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
At mid-afternoon last Friday, independent arborists arrived at Apex Park near the Byron Bay Surf Club, and immediately began removing the iconic Norfolk Pines.
Despite desperate protests from locals, the trees could not be saved.
The wind-damaged pines had been left in a near uprooted state over much of the week, and had weakened to the point where they were swaying dangerously.
Council engaged the tree surgeons to assess the trees – and it was found that the shifting of the root systems was an indication that they would fall down the moment the hippies returned with their slacklines.
This new has rocked Byron’s generational slacklining community, who are now left with no option but to migrate to the palm tree nirvana of North Queensland, where the trees have been tried and tested by the elements.
This is a blow for the region, as Byron Bay had proven to be one of the few places on the Eastern Seaboard that the colourful semi-nomadic community of dreadlocked hobbyists had ever stayed put.
Council has offered to provide the slackliners with two large metal poles on the oceanside location, but were promptly informed that it was just not the same man.
The vans are packed and the hippies are heading north to find a new home
Property prices are expected to spike in Mission Beach over the next couple years, as North Queensland becomes overwhelmed by the scents of sandalwood and cannabis.
