Byron Shire is located on the Far North Coast on NSW and shares its boundaries with the Tweed, Lismore and Ballina Local Government Areas (LGA’s). Brisbane is approximately 200 kilometres north and Sydney approximately 800 kilometres to the south. The Shire is 556 square kilometres in size. The area is famed for its rural beauty and its beaches.
The population of Byron Shire at the date of the 2006 census was 28,767.
The Byron Shire community is a diverse and colourful mix of people, with each of the towns and rural villages having its own distinctiveness, with a mix of cultural values, embracing both traditional and alternative lifestyles and philosophies.
Byron Shire is a prominent tourist destination with an estimated 1.3 million visitors in 2006. The main source of revenue for the Shire is tourism, approximately $370 million in 2006. Tourism has a significant impact on a range of industries in the Shire, notably retailing, health facilities and spas, accommodations, restaurants and cafes, transportation and construction. Agriculture and related value-added and creative industries are also important areas of activity for the Shire.
There are 13,095 dwellings within the Shire (ABS2001) with 76% (9,952) being separate houses, 1,357 were unoccupied dwellings on census night.
46% of households have one motor vehicle, 28% have two motor vehicles and 9% have three or more motor vehicles.
Transport continues to be a major issue for many in our Shire. Public Transport is very limited, which means most people rely on a vehicle or are restricted in their access to essential services and educational facilities which are often located outside the Shire.
Roads are an important part of life in a rural area. Council maintains a total of 496 km of urban and rural roads and like many local government areas struggles to maintain the road network in good condition. This is made even more difficult because the rural areas of the shire are some of the most heavily populated in the country. The high levels of traffic generated by tourists’ further compounds the problem.