Lismore, New South Wales

Lismore is a sub-tropical city in New South Wales, Australia. It is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. It is a major regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the state.

History
The city of Lismore resides in the Aboriginal Bundjalung Nation area. Evidence indicates the Bundjalung people arrived from the north of Australia around 8,000 years ago. European History of Lismore begins in c.1843. A pastoral run covering an area of 93 km² was taken up by Captain Dumaresq at this time covering the Lismore area. The run was stocked with sheep from the New England area. Ward Stephens took up the run in the same year, but the sub-tropical climate was unsuited to sheep grazing, so the run was eventually abandoned. In January 1845, William and Jane Wilson took over the run. Jane Wilson was responsible for naming it after Lismore, Scotland, where the couple honeymooned. The Wilsons were Scottish and arrived in NSW in May 1883. In 1855, a surveyor by the name of Frederick Peppercorne was instructed by Sir Thomas Mitchell to determine a site for a township in the area. The chosen site was William Wilson's homestead paddock, and the area was proclaimed the "Town of Lismore" in the NSW Government Gazette on. The township was soon settled and a Post Office opened on.

Rainforest
Lismore and the surrounding towns used to be the rainforest the Big Scrub. Much of the Big Scrub has been cut down over the years.

Geography
Lismore is located on the Bruxner Highway and the Wilsons River, which is a tributary of the Richmond River. The State capital Sydney is 764 km south by road. Brisbane, the State capital of Queensland is within a 2.5-hour drive to the north.

Lismore central business district is located within 30 minutes drive from the eastern coast, and within 45 minutes of Byron Bay. The coastal town of Ballina is nearby. There are a number of rainforests in the area, remnants of what was once known as the Big Scrub. These are preserved today, with a small remnant known as Boatharbour Reserve just east of town on the Bangalow road. The nearest national park is Nightcap National Park.

Lismore is featured in the first verse of the Australian version of I've Been Everywhere and also mentioned in the Midnight Oil song 'Outside World' from the album 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.

Demographics
The City's population in 2007 was approximately 48,000 people, many of them students at Southern Cross University or older persons. There has been a steady growth in population from the 2001 and 2006 censuses. 2.6% of the total population are of Indigenous Australian origin, totaling 1422 individuals. The median age is 36 years, one year above the state average of 35 years of age. In the urban areas, the three most common languages, other than English, spoken at home are: Italian, Chinese languages, and German. In the rural areas the three most common languages, other than English, spoken at home are Italian, German, and Spanish. Another language commonly spoken is Hungarian.
 * Urban population: 65% of people live in the urban areas of Lismore. The Goonellabah area has the largest urban population with 13,706 people or 32.72% of the total Local Government Area and 50.74% of the total urban population.
 * Rural population: 5% of people live in the surrounding villages of Lismore. Modanville is the largest village population with 467 people. 30% of people live in rural areas.
 * Education: Lismore has 7,340 school-age children. 26 government primary schools are present in the area, 9 non-government primary schools (3 of which incorporate secondary schools), 3 government secondary schools and 2 non-government secondary schools.
 * Older persons: 12.8% of the population is over 65 years of age. The total number of persons over this age is 5,356. This represents an increase of 319 people, or 1.2% growth since 1996.
 * Youth: 19.9% of the population is between 12 and 24 years of age. The total number of persons in this age range is 8,314.
 * Ethnicity: 35,943 people in the area are of Australian origin. This represents a total of 85.8% of people in the entire area. In the urban areas, those born overseas are primarily from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Italy. In the rural areas, overseas origins are mainly the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, and Italy.

Despite Lismore being the centre of a non-metropolitan area, it is nonetheless one of the most accepting and socially liberal settlements anywhere in rural Australia.

Media
The Northern Rivers Echo is a free weekly community newspaper with 27,000 copies going to Lismore, Alstonville, Wollongbar, Ballina, Casino, Nimbin and Evans Head.

The Northern Star is a tabloid newspaper based in Lismore. It covers the region from Casino to Ballina and up to Murwillimbah and Byron Bay, covering a population of several hundred thousand.

The commercial radio stations in the area are Triple Z (Hit Music) & 9002LM (also broadcast on 104.3fm). Both are run by Broadcast Operations Group.

The Community Radio Station is 2NCR 92.9 FM which offers an independent alternative media voice playing a diverse range of music.

Business
The four largest industries by employment are; retail sector, health care, education (Southern Cross University) and agriculture (Norco milk).

The Lismore region is blessed with a high number of popular markets. The most popular are The Channon, Bangalow, Byron Bay and Lismore (1st and 3rd Sundays) markets. The Channon markets are renowned for their bohemian ambience while the Bangalow and Byron markets have a lot of interesting trinkets, especially for tourists, and the Lismore market showcases a lot of the local produce and art. All of these markets are on various weekends throughout each month. The Lismore Organic Farmers Market is on Tuesday morning and the Farmers Market is on every Saturday morning, both at the Lismore showground.

Nightlife
Lismore, as well as being near the tourist centre of Byron Bay, has a number of good places to go out. The Winsome Hotel, a gay friendly nightspot on Bridge street is popular, as is The One nightclub and in particular The Standard nightclub. Along with these nightspots, try the Uni bar on Thursday to Saturday nights, where you can dance along with hundreds of attractive young uni students. Nights here are often themed. There are a number of pubs aimed at an older crowd around the CBD.

If you are looking for dinner try the 20,000 cows restaurant, on Bridge street, a very interesting vegan restaurant, full of hippy charm. The Fire in the Belly pizza restaurant won the 'best pizza in Australia' award in 2006. There are many cafes around the CBD, many of which showcase the locally grown coffee.

Education

 * The popular Southern Cross University is the 'home' university of Lismore. It attracts a high number of out-of-region students, attracted to the natural beauty of the area, and is the 7th highest leading provider of long distance education in Australia. Entry scores for the university have been steadily rising since the university's establishment more than a decade ago.

Lismore and the surrounding area is home to a number of public and private schools, including:
 * Blue Hills College
 * Kadina High School
 * Lismore High School
 * Lismore South Public School
 * Richmond River High School
 * St John's College, Woodlawn
 * Summerland Christian College
 * Trinity Catholic College Lismore
 * Vistara Primary

Climate
Lismore experiences mild to warm temperatures all year round, with an ample rainfall. Temperatures in the summer range from anywhere between 27 C and 40 C. The sub-tropical climate combined with geographical features means the urban area is unusually humid when compared with surrounding areas, especially in the summer season. Although no major environmental hazards affect the area, Lismore is renowned for the occasional flood, one of the worst having occurred in 1974, rising to a water height of 12.1 m. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh whilst staying in the Gollan Hotel in 1954 were almost floodbound by one such inundation. Following a flood in 2001, the then Premier of New South Wales — Bob Carr — initiated a flood levee program to curb the problem. Nonetheless, over 9000 residents of Lismore were evacuated after floods affected much of the area on, many being temporarily housed on the campus of Southern Cross University. However, a new levee that had been completed two weeks prior limited damage and stopped the water reaching the central business area. On a weak tornado struck nearby Dunoon, captured on video as it struck a direct hit on an electrical transformer station.

Sister cities
Lismore formed a sister-city relationship with Yamatotakada City, Nara Prefecture, Japan in 1963. It was the first such relationship established between Australia and Japan.

Lismore is also sistered with Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA and Lismore in Ireland.

Radio Stations

 * 2LM 900 AM (commercial)
 * Triple Z FM 100.9 (commercial)
 * JJJ 96.1 FM
 * Radio National 96.9 FM
 * Classic FM 95.3
 * ABC North Coast 94.5 FM
 * 2NCR FM 92.9 (community radio)

Leaders

 * Mayor Jenny Dowell
 * Member Of Federal Parliament Janelle Saffin
 * Member Of State Parliament Thomas George

Notable People

 * Famed tightrope walker Con Colleano was born in Lismore in 1899.
 * Nigel Roy rugby league player was born in Lismore in 1974.
 * Australian cricket wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist grew up in Lismore from the age of 13 and captained his school team.
 * The pop/rock band Grinspoon started out in Lismore
 * Retired Socceroo Craig Foster was born in Lismore in 1969.