Farewell, Geoff Williams
THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO Advertising & news enquiries: Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 P]SQTPdch Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 [email protected] [email protected] Available early Tuesday at: http://www.echo.net.au VOLUME 22 #09 TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2007 22,300 copies every week GO THE BLUES! *>}iÊÎÓ Farewell, Geoff Williams Music and sunshine make for November 19, 1950-July 30, 2007 Splendour in the Grass Hans Lovejoy alcohol overdoses, drink- Ride, The Hoodoo Gurus, Geoff Williams, Echo adver- drug driving and party- Arctic Monkeys and The tising manager and Bruns- For the first time in four related injuries were recorded Hilltop Hoods were some of wick Heads resident, died of years it wasn’t reduced to a by the local hospital and Sunday’s highlights. Despite cancer at John Flynn hospital mudpit. Winter sunshine police. Fines for sleeping in the cancellation of two inter- on the Gold Coast on Mon- broke through the morning cars were also issued by national drawcards, The day July 30, aged 56. drizzle last Saturday, setting Council Rangers according Klaxons and Damien Rice, His life was celebrated by the stage for possibly the best family and friends last Thurs- lineup Splendour In The to at least one witness, and replacement bands The Waifs day on the banks of his Grass has ever seen. Over complaints ranged from tres- and The Hot Chip DJs were beloved Brunswick River. 17,500 music lovers danced, passing to public urinating. luckily available to perform Born in Melbourne on partied and sent each other It’s all about the music, at late notice. November 19, 1950, Geof- text messages throughout the however, and this year’s line- Police kept a visible pres- frey Kenneth Williams grew two day event, bringing a up of local and international ence throughout the town up in the city and was edu- colourful and vibrant atmos- acts did not disappoint. and festival site. A learner cated there before moving on phere to Byron Bay. Car- Local bands Sara Tindley driver and his nominated to a career in newspaper park, tent and festival capac- and the Kingfi shers and Wild supervisor were charged with publishing. ity was also pushed to the Marmalade opened the fes- drink driving on Sunday Among the many speakers limit. The best T-shirt slogan tival on Saturday with Aussie night at Ewingsdale, accord- at his service, Geoff’s father of the festival? ‘No politics. favourites Grinspoon, Pow- ing to NSW Police Online. Ken recalled his natural gre- Just parties.’ derfi nger and London song- The pair will appear at Byron gariousness, how he would as As with any major musical stress Lily Allen headlining Bay Local Court on Friday a child sit astride the family festival, cases of drug and the night, while local act The continued on page 2 letterbox and chat with pas- sersby. He also noted Geoff’s sporting prowess, in athletics and rowing, and recounted how the great distance run- ner Ron Clarke arrived at the family doorstep to encourage Geoff with a gift of running gear. Geoff also backpacked through Europe, said Ken, who had overheard him watch the volume of sales before being employed in the spouting his own verse at the increased hugely, but just as newspaper industry at The local river. importantly he taught us to Age in Melbourne, Towns- Another pub was owned treat the business with pro- ville and with Rural Press at by the then retired Australian fessionalism, and to keep Merimbula. world champion boxer Lionel leavening it with good sense His friend from Caulfi eld Rose, and Tony remembered and humour as he did. He Grammar, Tony Maine, Geoff dancing the pugilist fi tted in so well at the news- recalled their rowing days publican around the room to paper because he had things together and his stint at the strains of the just-released to say, and I regret that we Latrobe University, where American Pie. didn’t insist on Geoff writing Geoff graduated in Arts/Sci- Geoff came to The Echo in more because when you ence. Geoff had a great love 1999, and as Echo publisher drew him out on the subject of science, exhibited in an David Lovejoy remarked, of Australian rural media he impressive knowledge of ‘immediately impressed his was a fund of anecdote and physics and geography. stamp on the newspaper. He insight. There was even more to was well-organised, far- ‘He loved the paper and Geoff, however – he loved a sighted, and clear about his he loved the area where he punt and a drink and was an plans, and he accompanied it found himself after years avid Carlton AFL supporter. all with a delicious probing with the corporate press. He Poetry was another string to wit. threw himself into local his bow and Tony told how ‘Geoff’s infl uence on The Brunswick issues and got to Geoff once impressed the Echo was therefore entirely know everybody. Melbourne musician Wally De Backer as his solo project Gotye attacks the drums at Splendour. See locals at the Jingellic pub, benefi cial. Certainly on his continued on page 2 more pictures on page 18. Photo Jeff ‘Pit Bull’ Dawson 2 August 7, 2007 Byron Shire Echo www.echo.net.au Local News Splendour in ALL SCRAP METAL WANTED the Grass Local artist tangos for Oz , Ê* Ê1*Ê- ,6 Ê From front page Well-known local artist Jan 7 Ê 19Ê/ Ê"/ September 7. Police were Rae is also a tango star. With happy with the cooperation her partner George Milu- UÊ, Ê +1* / novich she will be competing UÊ ,Ê " - of the majority of the crowds, UÊ/,1 Ê " - event and emergency staff, at the World Tango Champi- UÊ,"" according to Inspector Ross onships in Buenos Aires. UÊ "** , Wilkinson. On Easter Sunday on the UÊ ,-- stage of the Concert Hall of UÊ1 1 ‘There was a large increase UÊ in numbers this year,’ he told the Sydney Opera House, UÊ-/ -- The Echo, ‘though it was dis- George and Jan entered the UÊ9Ê - appointing to see the num- semi-fi nals of the Australian UÊ /, Ê "/",-ÊUÊ, /",-ÊUÊ Ê7 -Ê Tango Championships. UÊ // , -UÊÊ7 Ê "7 ,-ÊUÊÊ ,Ê "8 - bers of drug and alcohol related offences.’ Together with more than 30 " 9Ê"7 Ê Ê"* ,/ Inspector Wilkinson said other couples they danced -/Ê "-/Ê there were 33 DUIs for alco- three tangos before the /Ê, 9 ,- hol and nine were charged judges from Buenos Aires for driving under the infl u- and won. 1300 788 412 ence of other drugs. There They will be dancing was also 30 arrests for drug ‘Salon Tango’ which is possession. regarded as the more elegant Numbers of hospital style danced in the tango "0 3UFFOLK 0ARK admissions and ambulance salons of Buenos Aires. assistance were up from last More information about 3ERVICE #ENTRE year, according to figures the Championships can be from North Coast Area found at www.tangodata. 0HONE ÈÈnxÊΣ££ Health Service (NCAHS). com. An interview with Jan Last year 105 people needed and George is available medical attention, while this online at http://tangoaus- -* year the number was 153. tralia.com.au. fÓä Photo Claire McClelland ‘Less aggressive’ Ài}ÊV iVà spokesperson Fay Gleave vviÀÊi`ÃÊΣÃÌÊÕ}ÕÃÌÊÓääÇÊ NCAHS spokesperson also added, ‘With an Farewell, Geoff Williams Robin Osborne told The extremely busy weekend, the >Ê,>« ÊÀÊ ÊÌÊ Echo, ‘From what I’m told, St Johns team worked very From front page ‘Coco, when we got µÕÀiÊ>LÕÌÊÕÀÊ the crowds were less aggres- well together and managed ‘In particular I remember married I made a vow to stay , Ê "1,/ -9Ê ,Ê 2ALPH +YNOCH *OHN 7RAIGHT sive than last year, possibly all facets of treatment. We’re how much he did for our with you in sickness and in >`ÉÀÊÕÀÊiÜÊvviÀÊvÊ Bangalow correspondent health, until death do us ÈÊÌ ÃÊÌiÀiÃÌvÀiiÊÌiÀÃÊ due to a decrease in crystal very grateful to our staff, methaphetamine use, though event security and the NSW Kaye Hall when she contrac- part. Ê>ÞÊiV >V>ÊÀi«>ÀÃÊÛiÀÊfxää ted cancer, ironically lung ‘We were together through ÌÊ>««ÀÛi`Ê>««V>ÌÃ°Ê there were reports of dehy- Ambulance Service for their dration despite drinking splendid cooperation and cancer, and fought it for sickness and now death has /iÀÃÊ>`ÊV`ÌÃÊ>««Þ° water being available for response.’ many months. parted us, I want you to free.’ More than 31 per cent of ‘She died last year and just know I did this not out of a He also said emergency attendees at the sold-out fes- six months ago Geoff lear- sense of duty and not because admissions were concentrated tival bought special ‘green’ ned that he faced the same I made the vow, but because 26*5 largely in the 20 to 40 year tickets to offset their carbon battle.’ I love you.’ age group, and were mainly emissions, according to a fes- The most heart-breaking Among the celebrations 4.0,*/( due to adverse reactions to a tival spokesperson. speech came from Naree, on the Thursday there was "GUFSPOFUSFBUNFOU mix of alcohol and drugs, pre- ‘With our current location Geoff’s wife of three years, also music and song. Zan, dominantly ecstasy. at capacity we look forward and was read out by her Geoff’s daughter from a pre- ‘Byron Shire clinical staff to working towards a new friend Eve Jeffery. vious marriage, sang the -04& did a terrifi c job in coping home at Yelgun for Splen- It said in part: ‘If Coco 23rd Psalm and his nephew with the unusually high dour 2008,’ she said. ‘Big [her pet name for Geoff] is Matt Stonehouse played an demand and their efforts are thanks to the audience and looking down at us now, I improvised piece on the 8&*()5 greatly appreciated,’ Mr workers who made it our know he would feel very mandolin. "GUFSPOFUSFBUNFOU Osborne said. most memorable festival honoured to see his friends Throughout the gathering St Johns Ambulance yet.’ and family gathered at this pelicans wheeled overhead, t/PGVSUIFSUSFBUNFOUTSFRVJSFE place by the river that was a fl ight of corellas passed t(6"3"/5&&%1"*/-&44 very special to him. He loved over the crowd, and at the /0/*/7"4*7& this place so much and this end Naree poured Geoff’s is the reason that we chose ashes into the river while -"4&35)&3"1:46$$&44 the place today and it is for friends and family made 5XFFE)FBETt3PCJOBt#BMMJOB this reason that I will now their way across the mud to take Coco’s ashes and put throw flowers into the
#& them in the place he loved. water. Lightforce Computers Macbook Clearance SALE! $1395. By special arrangement with Apple Australia we have a limited quantity of New - in box MacBook Core2Duo’s – Supplies Strictly Limited to stock on hand* – Macbook - 1.83ghz Core 2 duo glossy 13.3" widescreen -with 1gb RAM Upgrade - 60gb hd - SHORES DENTAL Combo drive - 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 - OS X 10.4 - MacBook delivers the power of the Intel Core 2 Duo and a heap of innovative features, like built-in iSight camera for video chat À>Ê i>ÊEÊÃÃV>ÌiÃÊÊ - ilife '06; Front Row - even dual display support. Add AppleCare 3 Year Warranty $419 Now $359! iÌ>Ê-ÕÀ}ià MacBook 1.83 Core 2 Duo 13” $1395. ÞiÊ7>ÃÊ iÌ>ÊÞ}iÃÌ 2GB iPod Nano’s are $199! This Week Now $165! ÜÊ«iÊ ÀÊ>`Ê>ÌiÀ>ÌiÊÊ With its new anodized aluminum enclosure and rounded edges, iPod nano looks as dazzling as it feels. Now sleeker than ever - 8.9 cm tall, 4.0 cm ->ÌÕÀ`>ÞÃÊLÞÊ>««ÌiÌ wide, and just over 0.6 centimetres thin! carry your favorite music every- where - plus podcasts, audiobooks, photos, contacts, calendar, and files. 2 GB iPod Nano Supply is strictly limited to stock on hand-no rainchecks (Silver only) ¼ , / Ê- -½ “Byron’s Mac Centre & one stop for all things iPod ” " Ê-", -Ê Ê /, Ê,Ê, ]ÊÊ m-th 10-6 • fri 10-5 • sat 10-1at 1/10 Brigantine St. Byron Bay 6685 8796 " Ê-", -Ê*\ÊÈÈnäÊÎ{ÇÇ www.echo.net.au Byron Shire Echo August 7, 2007 3 Local News Mullum High takes state fi nal of Rock Eisteddfod X[ij fh_Y[ X[ij i[hl_Y[ WdZ j^[ bWj[ij j[Y^debe]o Z lwy d y }}}B | y B y{w {{{z w :KOO
Just when Mullumbimby from the NRMA to put encouraging them and bring- ‘I came away with the sat- jYb NGy bYZ jl :GHNN High School thought its Rock towards further performance ing out the best in each indi- isfaction of being a part of LDK {|{~ w{D MKFFPG Zwy y w Eisteddfod record couldn’t programs. vidual, achieving outstand- something huge,’ said Justin. w D Yw ~ z{y } kiX f{D get any better, it did. Last The ‘Small’ division entry ing results that speak for ‘Coming from a small town, week around 60 Year 7-10 which dealt with the subject themselves. we don’t get these kinds of students and a couple of Year of sun awareness also ‘Special thanks must go to opportunities very often. It 11 students travelled to Bris- impressed the judges and Georgina Tait for her general really opens doors for us and : bane to compete in the won six special awards. organisation, Ben Walsh for gives us a chance to show- GHNN Queensland state fi nals of the Between the two perform- stepping up to the plate and case ourselves. 2007 Rock Eisteddfod with ances, Mullum High came nailing the lighting, and Har- ‘I also love the way it builds entries in two categories of away with ten awards includ- ley Caulcutt for keeping eve- solidarity across the grades,’ the competition. ing Excellence in Drug ryone in check,’ said Kim. said Justin, ‘giving me a For the second year in a Awareness, Excellence in ‘Our kids behaved impecca- chance to make friends with row, the school’s entry in the Lighting, Excellence in Vis- bly, and we should all be people I would never nor- ‘Raw’ division took out fi rst ual Awareness, and Excel- proud of them: they are true mally get to meet. It was an place with a performance lence in Soundtrack. ambassadors for our school.’ incredibly worthwhile expe- highlighting the dangers of Once again, the indefati- Year 9 student Justin Fen- rience, the highlight of my drugs and alcohol when driv- gable Kim Mitchell led the wick describes the experience year so far and I would defi - iw} H]X cfI ing, winning a $5000 grant troupe of talented students, as ‘amazing’. nitely do it again.’ \c hwz D f~ z{ ~ D HK ~ xw{D J]X cfI : Library funding cuts a ‘disgrace’, says Page fw{ :HJN GMN Member for Ballina Don tion, promised to increase the number of smaller com- providing an environment to Page believes that the latest library funding, but in fact it munities requiring library encourage and increase chil- iw} MDK} state government cuts to has been cut drastically,’ said services. dren’s reading ability. public libraries are a disgrace, Mr Page. ‘The Northern Rivers area ‘The NSW state govern- \ b wz mw~{ with libraries now receiving ‘Libraries play an impor- has a large aging population ment are the highest taxing <