N ORTH E AST W EST S OUTH P AST A ND P RESENT E VENT R EPORT The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 39 #52 • June 4, 2025 • www.echo.net.au
Beach Hotel under new management
It’s going to be
marbellous…
T
he Byron Bay Beach Hotel has again changed hands, with Johns Lyng Group CEO, Scott Didier AM, taking full ownership, having previously been a minority shareholder. It is widely considered to be the second-highest price ever paid for a pub in Australia at reportedly $140m. In 2022, Nelson Meers AO, former Sydney lord mayor paid $160 million for The Crossroads Hotel in Casula, Sydney. The Beach Hotel or The Beachy, as it is known, underwent significant redevelopment in the early 1990s when owned by John Cornell and his wife Delvene Delaney. In 2007, the van Haandel family acquired it for a reported $44 million, and then ten years later in 2017, it was sold to Impact Investment Group for a reported $68.2 million. In 2019, Moelis Australia (now MA Financial Group) acquired both the freehold and the operating business, reportedly for just over $100 million.
Who’s the new owner? According to LinkedIn, the Melbourne-based businessman has been CEO of ‘insurance commercial disaster maintenance services’ company, Johns Lyng Group, since acquisition in 2004. Johns Lyng Group (JLG) hold significant government contracts and were tasked with building the emergency pod villages in the Northern Rivers after the 2022 floods. They came under the spotlight Continued on page 2 ▶
Alongside the Old and Gold Festival in Bruns this Saturday June 7, the Australian Marbles Championships will be held from 10am to 2pm at the Housie Shed, opposite the pub. Former champ, Damian Farrell, is aiming to regain his title, which he says was ‘lost unceremoniously last year to
14-year-old Santiago Villanueva, from Brisbane’. The winner walks away with a marble statue and inestimable prestige. Pictured are Lucca in blue and Baxter in red, with a bunch of other hopefuls along with co-ordinator, Mary Ashton, and sore loser, Damian Farrell. Photo Jeff ‘Glass Marble Jaw’ Dawson
Bruns faces tough winter with pay parking, campervan impacts Hans Lovejoy Residents and business owners in Brunswick Heads voiced concerns around the downturn in business at the Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting, held last Wednesday at the Bruns Picture House. The board invited councillors to attend – David Warth, Janet Swain and Jack Dods were present.
Fundraiser to honour Pauline’s contribution to surfing ▶ p7
It was a constructive and mature discussion around the serious issues facing the town, namely the negative impacts of pay parking and the large number of campervans parking in the heart of town. The meeting heard that there are small businesses on the verge of going broke and closing. And according to one long-term elderly local, ‘I’ve never seen this
Council left to deal with police matters ▶ p12
town so unhappy’. Around 60 people were in attendance.
BVC revenue down Chamber President Peter Wotton started by informing all present that the Brunswick Heads Visitors Centre (BVC) is a not-for-profit organisation and has not received funding by governments or Council since opening 13 years ago. It relies on
The illusion of social cohesion ▶ p17
Old & Gold in Bruns this weekend ▶ p19
JOIN US AT
The MANA Property Information Evening We booked out last time, reserve your spot to avoid disappointment. Drinks, canapés and lucky door prizes included! June 12th 5pm - 7pm
Ocean Shores Country Club
membership and events to generate sufficient income, he said, including Bruns merchandise sales, to sustain their business model. ‘Since the introduction of parking meters, our revenue has plummeted and is now not sustainable’, he said. To keep the doors open, he asked Council’s General Manager, Mark Arnold, for a financial lifeline. ▶ Continued on page 2
Arts feature ▶ p22
Magical Murbah ▶ p24
GUEST SPEAKERS Vivek Singh - Novel Finance Home Stylist - Simone Bennett Smith VKA Legal Marketing & Taxation Specialists
RSVP - charlie@manare.au