Lismore, New South Wales

Lismore New South Wales
Lismore from helicopter, overlooking the Bruxner Highway and Lismore CBD
Lismore
Coordinates	28°49′0″S 153°17′0″E
Population	27,474 (2011) (46)
Established	1856
Postcode(s)	2480
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Location	734 km (456 mi) NNE of Sydney 200 km (124 mi) S of Brisbane 46 km (29 mi) SW of Byron Bay
LGA(s)	City of Lismore
State electorate(s)	Lismore
Federal Division(s)	Page
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 25.5 °C 78 °F 13.2 °C 56 °F 1,343.0 mm 52.9 in

The Rainbow Train in Heritage Park in Lismore

Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area; it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.

History

The city of Lismore lies in the Bundjalung people's nation area. However, the actual area of the Bundjalung people from Evans Head is currently under examination, as well as the actual origin of the name Bundjalung. It has been suggested that the Aboriginal people called the area Tuckurimbah meaning "glutton."

The European history of the city begins in c. 1843: a pastoral run covering an area of 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi) was taken up by Captain Dumaresq at this time covering the Lismore area and was stocked with sheep from the New England area. Ward Stephens took up the run in the same year, but the subtropical climate was unsuited for sheep grazing, so it was eventually abandoned. In January 1845, William and Jane Wilson took it over. The Wilsons were Scottish immigrants, who arrived in New South Wales in May 1833. One theory has it that Jane Wilson was responsible for naming the location for Lismore, Scotland, where the couple had honeymooned, whereas another one is that it was named after Lismore, Ireland because of the similarity in the scenery.

In 1855, the surveyor Frederick Peppercorne was instructed by Sir Thomas Mitchell to determine a site for a township in the area. Peppercorne submitted his map of the proposed village reserve on 16 February 1856. The chosen site was William Wilson's homestead paddock and the area was proclaimed the "Town of Lismore" in the NSW Government Gazette on 1 May 1856. The township was soon settled and its Post Office was opened on 1 October 1859. Lismore was incorporated as a municipality on 5 March 1879, and was eventually proclaimed a city on 30 August 1946. From the mid-1950s until the early 1960s Lismore hosted an annual Floral Carnival in early September. The week-long programme of events culminated in a street parade of decorated floats, crowning of the Floral Queen and a fireworks display.

Rainforest

Lismore and surrounding towns were once part of the rainforest referred to as "The Big Scrub," of which less than one percent remains following the European settlement. A section of this rainforest is viewable in the grounds of the Southern Cross University and at Wilsons Nature Reserve on Wyrallah Road.

Geography

Molesworth Street, Lismore

Lismore is located on the Bruxner Highway and it lies at the confluence of the Wilsons River (a tributary of the Richmond River) and Leycester Creek, The state capital city of Sydney is located 764 km (475 mi) to the south by highway. Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, is 200 kilometres (124 mi) to the north.

Lismore's central business district is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the eastern coast, and 46 kilometres (29 mi) southwest of Byron Bay. The coastal town of Ballina is 36 kilometres (22 mi) away. There are a number of rainforest patches in the area, remnants of the Big Scrub. These are preserved today, with a small pocket known as Boatharbour Reserve just east of town on the Bangalow road. The nearest large and publicly accessible national park is Nightcap National Park.

Climate

Lismore experiences a humid subtropical climate with mild to warm temperatures all year round and ample rainfall. Temperatures in summer range between 20 °C (68 °F) and 35 °C (95 °F). The subtropical climate combined with geographical features means the urban area is unusually humid when compared with surrounding areas, with humidity levels often reaching 100% in summer. Lismore has 109.6 clear days annually.

Although no major environmental hazards affect the area, Lismore is renowned for frequent floods. One of the worst of these occurred in 1974, when waters rose to a height of 12.1 metres (40 ft). In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh almost became flood-bound by one such inundation when they were staying at the Gollan Hotel. Following a flood in 2001, the then Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr, initiated a flood levee program to curb the problem. Nonetheless, around 3000 residents of Lismore were evacuated after floods affected much of the area on 30 June 2005, 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.

Lismore is often hit by severe storms in spring and summer. For example, there was a severe hailstorm on 9 October 2007. A tornado is an extreme rarity, but later that same month one struck nearby Dunoon. It was captured on video as it hit an electrical transformer station there.

Climate data for Lismore
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	43.4 (110.1)	40.9 (105.6)	37.2 (99)	35.6 (96.1)	30.6 (87.1)	28.1 (82.6)	28.9 (84)	32.7 (90.9)	37.2 (99)	39.8 (103.6)	42.2 (108)	40.6 (105.1)	43.4 (110.1)
Average high °C (°F)	29.9 (85.8)	29.1 (84.4)	27.9 (82.2)	25.7 (78.3)	22.6 (72.7)	20.2 (68.4)	19.9 (67.8)	21.5 (70.7)	24.4 (75.9)	26.6 (79.9)	28.2 (82.8)	29.7 (85.5)	25.5 (77.9)
Average low °C (°F)	18.8 (65.8)	18.8 (65.8)	17.4 (63.3)	14.2 (57.6)	10.9 (51.6)	8.5 (47.3)	6.5 (43.7)	7.2 (45)	9.9 (49.8)	13.2 (55.8)	15.8 (60.4)	17.8 (64)	13.2 (55.8)
Record low °C (°F)	11.6 (52.9)	11.8 (53.2)	10.0 (50)	5.0 (41)	1.1 (34)	−1.0 (30.2)	−3.5 (25.7)	−2.0 (28.4)	−0.3 (31.5)	2.8 (37)	6.1 (43)	7.8 (46)	−3.5 (25.7)
Rainfall mm (inches)	155.4 (6.118)	183.6 (7.228)	188.4 (7.417)	129.2 (5.087)	115.3 (4.539)	97.0 (3.819)	80.3 (3.161)	54.9 (2.161)	50.4 (1.984)	73.2 (2.882)	94.1 (3.705)	121.3 (4.776)	1,343.1 (52.877)
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2mm)	12.9	13.9	15.6	12.5	11.6	9.5	8.3	7.5	7.4	9.0	10.0	11.4	129.6
Average humidity (%)	58	61	60	58	59	56	51	46	45	50	51	55	54
Source: Bureau of Meteorology

Demographics

The City's population at the 2011 census was 45,800. There has been a steady growth in population from the 2001 and 2011 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.

• 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.

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.

Media

Lismore has seen the growth of a relatively new source for news and information in the form of online media in recent years. Lismore Radio has been operating in the region focusing on the Lismore area since 2012. It has become the predominant source of up to the minute online crime news and other information mainly through the use of social media backed up by a website.

The Northern Rivers Echo is a free weekly community newspaper for 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.

The commercial radio stations of Lismore are Triple Z (Hit Music) and 2LM 900 AM (also broadcast on 104.3FM). Both are run by Broadcast Operations Group. The community radio station is River FM 92.9 which offers an independent alternative media voice playing a diverse range of music. Other radio stations are JJJ 96.1 FM, Radio National 96.9 FM, Classic FM 95.3 and ABC North Coast 94.5 FM.

All major television Network channels are available in Lismore and in the general Northern Rivers region. The networks and the channels they currently broadcast are listed as follows:

• Prime7 (SD), 7Two (SD), 7mate (HD) – Seven Network affiliated channels. UHF35 (578.5 MHz)
• NBN Television (SD), Go! (SD), GEM HD – Nine Network affiliated channels. UHF37 (592.5 MHz)
• Southern Cross Ten (SD), Eleven (SD), One HD – Network Ten affiliated channels. UHF32 (557.5 MHz)
• ABC Television, ABC1, ABC2, ABC3 (all SD), ABC News 24 (HD) – part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation National Network. UHF29 (536.5 MHz)
• SBS Television, SBS One (SD) and (HD), SBS Two (SD) – Special Broadcasting Service National Network. UHF40 (613.5 MHz)
• Digital radio channels are also broadcast on the ABC Television and SBS Television networks.

Subscription television services are provided by Austar.

Business

The Norco Co-operative has its headquarters in Lismore. The main campus of Southern Cross University is in Lismore.

Education

• Southern Cross University is located in Lismore, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in disciplines including business and law, tourism, humanities and social sciences, creative and performing arts, education, environment, marine and forest sciences, engineering, health and human sciences, law and Indigenous studies. The University was established in 1994 and has campuses at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales and Gold Coast, Queensland. The University has students from more than 80 countries around the world.

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
• Our Lady of Lourdes Infants School
• Richmond River High School
• St John's College, Woodlawn
• Summerland Christian College
• Trinity Catholic College, Lismore
• Vistara Primary

Sister cities

Lismore formed a sister city relationship with the Japanese city of Yamatotakada in Nara Prefecture in 1963. The first such relationship established between Australia and Japan, it was initiated by Lismore-born Marist priest and writer Paul Glynn. Lismore is also a sister city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland.

Leaders

• Mayor Jenny Dowell
• Member of Federal Parliament Kevin Hogan
• Member of State Parliament Thomas George

Notable people

• The noted tightrope walker Con Colleano was born in Lismore in 1899.
• Nigel Roy, a rugby league player, was born in Lismore in 1974.
• Adam Gilchrist, cricketer, lived in Lismore from the age of 13, and was the captain of his team at Kadina High School.
• The pop/rock band Grinspoon originated in Lismore.
• Socceroo Craig Foster was born in Lismore in 1969.
• Football media personality Christian Layland lived in Lismore in his youth and also attended Southern Cross University.
• The Australian Capital Territory MLA Andrew Barr was born in Lismore.
• The Australian artist Margaret Olley was born in Lismore.
• Marist missionary priest and writer Paul Glynn, was born here in 1928.
• National Rugby League player David Mead
• Rugby league coach Tony Smith
• Julian Assange once lived in Lismore.
• James Strong, former CEO of Qantas
• Martin Kennedy, rugby league player
• Maia Mitchell, actress
• Bob Ellis, writer, journalist, filmmaker and political commentator
• Emma Tom, writer, journalist and media commentator
• Peter Arnison AC, CVO – Major General, Land Commander Australia 1994–1996, Governor of Queensland 1997–2003
• George Sharpe, Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales 1989–1993
• Harry Wharton OBE FAA – (1923–1983) Notable zoologist and entomologist, particularly for the CSIRO.

Trivia

Lismore is featured in the first verse of the original version of "I've Been Everywhere" and also mentioned in the Midnight Oil song "Outside World".

See also

• Lismore Airport
• Lismore Turf Club

External links

• Southern Cross University
• Wireless Broadband News
• Northern Rivers Echo newspaper
• Northern Star newspaper
• Lismore Radio
• 2LM 900 AM
• Lismore Plants and Vegetation
• The Richmond River Historical Society
• Collection of photographs of Lismore in 1995, National Library of Australia
• Lismore Regional Gallery Artabase page
• Northern Rivers Geology Blog – Lismore