150 Years of Boom Town Ballina

Ballina tourism brochure, published in 1964.

Celebrating 150 Years of Boom Town Ballina

Ballina’s 150th Birthday Celebration, proudly coordinated by Ballina RSL Club Ltd & the Ballina Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc was … fun, fun, fun!

With a theme that took us back to Ballina’s glorious beach culture of the 1960’s it was bound to be a hit!
There were reflective, proud and spine-tingling moments as the audience relived our community’s past, examined its present and pondered its future … with a little bit of help from...

Marvellous audio-visual presentations from DAVE (these can be viewed directly by visiting lennoxheadnsw.com.au);

Special guests Gae Ferris (Miss Summergirl 1964), Jack Trevan (local life guard) & Helen Gates (Organiser of the 1964 Miss Summerland Beach Girl Competition – view their interviews and photos here

A wonderful ‘Hall of Fame’ tribute to Max Sidney & his award winning boat crew (from the Ballina Lighthouse & Lismore Surf Life Saving Club);

The team of actors (of Krinkl Theatre & ‘The Frocks’ fame) who created comical summergirl and lifesaver characters … and a hilarious hootenanny!

Some interestingly attired ‘Judges’ hired from the wonderful Ballina Players.

Kate Gahan (Heritage Officer, Ballina Shire Council) spoke about the importance of conserving our heritage and launched a Community Heritage Fund.

A Silent Auction was conducted and $2,120 was raised. This will support the very first project under the Ballina Shire Community Heritage Fund banner … a Community Oral History Project. Click here to view media release (PDF - 16KB).

Thanks to all those local businesses who donated prizes and to all those who parted with their hard-earned cash.

Some fantastic heritage stories were also captured through this event itself – it really was history in the making!

Special thanks must also go to our fantastic MCs, Jackie Hienrichson and Brian Woods from Paradise FM who contributed many hours of their own time to ensure that the ‘production’ went off without a hitch – great dancing, Brian … and groovy hair-do, Jackie!

This event received so much support from organisations across the Ballina Shire and the Northern Rivers Region.

Much gratitude is extended to our fabulous sponsors and media partners.

A complete Photo Gallery & news footage on this event can also be viewed.

Boom Town Ballina Special Features

Our Amazing Event Supporters Please visit and support the businesses and individuals that have sponsored this great event.

Boom Town Trivia Challenge Test your local knowledge with our trivia challenge.

Ballina Heritage Images Visit the gallery of images from Ballina's past.

Boom Town Ballina eCard Help others join the celebrations by sending the Boomtown eCard to your friends.

Where is Miss Summergirl? Check out the details of this exciting competition.

Proudly brought to you by Ballina Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc and Ballina RSL Pty Ltd