It’s been a long time coming, but the Byron shire now has its very own online portal for community groups.

Called iByron and built for the Community Centre by Community Engine, the website has been developed over the past 18 months and was launched last night with fanfare at the Byron Community Centre. Present were many of the community groups who will benefit from the tool, as well as candidates for the upcoming election, who spoke in support of the website.

“iByron will enable people throughout the Byron shire to publicise and communicate their projects and activities” said the Community Centre’s Paul Spooner. “We’ve never had this before in such a clear and accessible way. It’s bringing community organisations into the 21^st century”.

The website will utilise social media and youtube, providing simple web publishing and planning for groups and individuals who may otherwise be unable to afford or access such tools. As well as being able to search for and communicate with community groups, the site will promote a calendar of events and volunteer registry.

Community Engine’s Dean Power, who oversaw the tool’s development, spoke at the launch of how we are living through a time when more than half the Australian adult population carries in their pocket a smart phone, which has more computing power than NASA had when they put man on the moon. “We will create more information in the next five days than we did from the start of cave painting until 2003. And it’s our close connections, our community that help us make sense of that deluge” he said.

At the launch Community Engine also gave out three oversized cheques as a part of their $100,000 giveaway to Northern Rivers not-for-profit groups. Rainforest Rescue, the Byron Youth Service and the Byron Community Centre all received funds. “We have close to $90,000 left to give” said Dean Power, “so we strongly encourage Byron groups to actively participate in this giveaway”.

Zenith Virago from the Natural Death Centre closed the evening by facilitating a group visualisation, where guests blew iByron as bubbles from a wand out into the wider world.

http://byronbay.nsw.au/

Downloadable high res images:

Photo #1 – Community Engine’s Dean Power speaks at the launch of iByron

Photo #3 – The Community Centre’s Paul Spooner with Rick Slater from byronbay.com

Photo #3 – Simon Richardson and Kirra Pendergast at the launch of iByron

Photo #4 – Di Mahoney from the Byron Youth Service collects her cheque from Community Engine

$11,132 to Northern Rivers Groups

This week Community Engine will hand out $11,132 to Northern Rivers not-for-profit groups. This marks the end of the first round of their $100,000 “Community Giveaway”.

Every shire in the Northern Rivers is represented by the 107 recipients, which range from the Parental Alienation Awareness Organisation in Uki receiving $51 to the Byron Community Centre receiving $830.

“This is just the start” said Community Engine’s Dean Power. “There is close to $90,000 left to give and any group can raise up to $5,000”.

communityengine.com.au is a website which makes business, communication and networking easy for small business and community groups. “It’s also a tool for just about anybody to stay in touch with the people, groups and products that matter to them” says Power.

Following the successful pilot program for Community Engine in our region, they are taking their community building tool nationally. To say thanks and to help launch the website nationally they are giving $100,000 to local not-for-profit groups.

“Any new followers of organisations on the engine attract $1 each” said Dean Power. “If you’re a not-for-profit group you keep the money and if you’re a business you get to donate it to your favourite group”.

“We are so excited to be onboard raising money” said the Byron Community Centre’s Amanda Gorr. “It’s a fantastic initiative by Community Engine. Please everybody help us help our community by going to Community Engine and following the Byron Community Centre”.

Not-for-profit groups receiving money in the first round of donations include:

Byron Community Centre                                     $830

Help Mountain Girls Reach Their Summit            $754

Byron Youth Service                                                $720

Travelteering                                                            $457

Rainforest Rescue                                                $425

Positive Change for Marine Life                        $366

Byron Breast Cancer Support Group                        $346

Northern Rivers Tourism                                    $305

Academy of Root Development Australia            $244

Byron Visitor Centre                                                $225

Byron Bay Youth House                                    $222

Companion Animals Welfare Incorporated            $206

WIRES Northern Rivers                                    $201

To find out more go to www.communityengine.com.au/giveaway

call 1300 266686, email hello@communityengine.com.au

or drop into Community Engine at Shop 1, Byron Street Byron Bay (next to Aldi).

Downloadable high resolution images:

Photo #1 – Byron Community Centre celebrates
Photo #2 – Brunswick Soccer Club raising money through Community Engine
Photo #3 – A WIRES carer from Billinudgel with a young possum she rescued.
Photo #4 – Team Community Engine, Byron Bay

“Very informative” was how Zack Zytnik described the “Great Australian Dream” New Home Ownership workshop held last Saturday at Ewingsdale Hall. Zack and his partner Sarah Daniels attended the free workshop to hear about new government incentives for home ownership and what local opportunities may exist.

“I own a place at Bangalow and I’m thinking about buying again” said Mr Zytnik.

Bec Brown lives in Coorabell and “would like to have the chance to invest in the community”. “My family has been living here for 13 years, I went to uni here, I love the region and feel passionate about it” she said. Bec was impressed with the house and land packages currently available in Mullumbimby at Tallowood Ridge. “I find the heritage aspect very appealing and I’m interested in the possibility that they can build at that price. I thought the workshop was fascinating”.

Organised by local real estate dynamo Rose Wanchap, “The Great Australian Dream” brought together experts in the fields of finance, law, building and development. Michael Murray from Byron Property Search spoke of accessing finance, Gisele Wagner from Northern Rivers Lawyers addressed the $15,000 first new home owners grant and other incentives, builder Terry Builton and Eric Freeman (one of the collective of owners at Tallowood Ridge) discussed some of the house and land packages available and the benefits of new granny flat laws.

“We showed the group an example of purchasing land and building a house on it, in this case the Coolamon 95 two bedroom home” said Rose Wanchap. “Once the new incentives were factored in, if people could come up with a deposit of approximately $20,000 they would be looking at repayments of around $320 a week to own a brand new two bedroom home on a 493m² block, with room to add a granny flat later on. That’s interest only, and if their loan was principal plus interest they’d be looking at repayments of around $360 a week. For many people this means they’re better off owning”.

For those wishing to purchase a new house and land package or build a new home:

• The new first new home owners grant of $15,000 becomes available October 1 2012. This will be available until January 1 2014, after which it will be reduced to $10,000.

• There is a $5,000 new home owners’ grant available now if it’s not your first home.

• Rose Wanchap is willing to give her commission to the purchaser to put toward the cost of their home for people buying at Tallowood Ridge who would otherwise be unable to afford a home.

• New granny flat laws, which commenced last year, make purchasing land more sensible as there exists the opportunity to create two income streams from one block.

• Deposits of 5% are acceptable at Tallowood Ridge given a serviceable income.

For more information  www.osr.nsw.gov.au / www.tallowoodridge.com

Downloadable high res images:
Photo #1 – Bec Brown with Rose Wanchap
Photo #2 – Zak Zytnik and Sarah Daniels

Celebrated local artist Angus McDonald shone at a dinner in his honour held at The Byron at Byron Resort on Thursday 9^th August. Angus joined his dealer Tim Olsen of Sydney’s Tim Olsen Gallery to discuss the art world he inhabits and what it means to him.

Local art identity Emma Walker (who also exhibits with Tim Olsen) was amongst the guests, as was ArtsCape’s Merran Morrison and Nadine Abensur of Mullumbimby’s Art Piece Gallery.

McDonald discussed how art intimidates Australians, how we have somehow been made to feel that art is elitist. “In Italy people have four loves” he said. “Art, sex, food and football. Whereas here people are made to feel like they have to love either art or football, it’s one or the other”.

Tim Olsen discussed growing up in the art world amongst people such as Brett Whitely and Robert Hughes. “I was conceived at the National Art School, I ended up studying there and now I’m on the Board” he said.

The walls of The Byron at Byron were hung with paintings from Angus’s own collection as well as three showstopping canvases that will form part of his upcoming exhibition Elysium at the Tim Olsen Gallery, which opens on September 5 and runs until September 23.

The next event at The Byron at Byron will be the Vogue Living Champagne Dinner on October 26, where renowned Chef Justin North will create four courses to match five of the world’s finest Champagnes.

Art is such a wonderful world to inhabit.  Angus McDonald

A great painting never goes out of date.  Tim Olsen