Our Byron Community with Chris Hanley

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Janelle Saffin — NSW Minister for the North Coast, long-time local member, and passionate advocate for the Northern Rivers. They talk about Janelle's working-class upbringing in Ipswich, leaving school at thirteen, and the experiences that shaped a lifetime of public service. From finding a home in Lismore over fifty years ago to working...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Christian Tancred — General Manager of the Byron Youth Service and The YAC. Christian shares his journey from growing up in Orange NSW obsessed with surfing, to working across community development, youth culture, filmmaking and mental health advocacy. They talk about the experiences that shaped his path, including losing a close friend at a y...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Patti Lowry to hear the remarkable story of a life lived across continents and decades of change. Born in England during the war and raised in Canada, Patti reflects on losing her mother early, travelling through Europe in the 1960s, hitchhiking across Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, marrying in Jerusalem, and eventually making her way to Aust...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with endurance swimmer and Northern Rivers local Ed Mason for a fascinating conversation about ultra-distance swimming, mindset, pain, and pushing the limits of what’s possible. Originally from the Mid North Coast and now based in Brunswick Heads, Ed shares his journey from studying arts and law in Sydney to building a remote career in legal publis...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Our Byron Community, Chris sits down with Mel McPherson for a deeply personal conversation about adventure, reinvention, creativity, and finding belonging. Growing up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches before moving through Avoca and eventually Byron Bay, Mel reflects on the chapters that shaped her life — from boarding school and film school to working alongside lege...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Cameron Arnold — long-time local, tourism operator, and one of the key figures behind the evolution of Byron’s visitor economy. They talk about Cameron’s early years growing up in Sydney, losing his father young, and finding his way through island life, hospitality, and eventually into Byron Bay in the early ’90s. From running hotels and build...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Zenith Virago — long-time Northern Rivers local, celebrant, educator, and one of the leading voices around death, dying, and community-led funerals. They talk about Zenith’s journey from working-class London to the North Coast in the 1980s, and how a life shaped by travel, community, and a deep sense of presence led her into working with death...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Elia Hauge — engineer, educator, environmentalist and Byron Shire councillor. They talk about growing up between cultures, leaving and returning to Byron, and how a love of maths, music, and the environment shaped her path. From studying engineering and working in water systems to stepping into local politics, Elia shares how values, community...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Rachael Calvert. Rachael shares her journey through major life changes, personal growth, and the experiences that have shaped the way she sees herself and the world around her. They talk about the realities of navigating uncertainty, the emotional weight that can come with big transitions, and what it takes to rebuild confidence and direction...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chris sits down with Andy Plummer. Andy reflects on growing up with a father in the military, a childhood shaped by movement, change, and the need to continually adapt. He talks about how those early experiences influenced his sense of identity and reinvention, and how creativity became a constant through periods of transition. The conversation also explores Andy’...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Tait, author of Far Horizons, for a wide-ranging and deeply reflective conversation about life, leadership, travel, and the experiences that shape us. Aaron shares his journey from a restless childhood in New Zealand to joining the military at just 17, the moral reckoning that followed his early deployments, and how travel, service, and stor...

Send us Fan Mail Chris sits down with local real estate expert Su Reynolds to unpack the Byron Bay property market in 2025. Together they explore current trends, challenges, and opportunities, and share insights into what the early months of 2026 could look like for buyers, sellers, and the wider community.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Tory Trewhitt - author, executive health coach, exercise physiologist and motivational speaker, who grew up in the Mornington Peninsula and has called Byron Bay home for the past nine years. Tory shares the hard lessons that shaped him, from his early years at an all boys school to heading straight into university and eventually stepping into corp...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Radek Sali - entrepreneur, former CEO and a leading figure in Australia’s health and wellness space. Born in Scotland to an Albanian father and Czech mother, Radek grew up in Melbourne with strong influences in medicine, wellness and hard work. From managing a local cinema as a teenager to becoming CEO at just 27, he shares the early lessons that...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Emma Hargraves - second-generation Byron Bay local, teacher and lifelong advocate for creativity and connection. Born and raised in Byron, Emma shares stories of her early years, the teachers who shaped her, and how a love of English turned into a lifelong career. She reflects on what it’s really like inside the classroom, from the challenges youn...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Cleo Mundy, a 15-year-old student from Byron Bay who recently returned from a 4.5-month exchange in a small town in Greece. Cleo grew up in Sydney before moving to Byron at the age of four, and she’s currently a student at a local Steiner school - a place she describes as artistic, nurturing, and well-suited for those who learn at their own pace. Cle...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Tiffany Richmond - a musician, voice artist and mother of four who’s built a creative life in Byron Bay. Originally from Sydney, Tiffany moved to Byron ten years ago, drawn by its community and creative energy. A musician at heart, she toured the world with the band Sparkadia before finding her rhythm here. It wasn’t until she was 40 that surfing...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Caitlin Reilly - artist, gallery owner and co-founder of the Bangalow Station Street Co Op with Hugh Stewart. Caitlin first came to Byron from Melbourne in 1997, where she’d spent years playing music before settling here for a decade. After completing a Bachelor of Arts, she moved to China in 2009 and lived there for six years before returning to...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Che Devlin - a Byron Bay local shaped by family, travel and the hospitality industry. Che’s story begins at Fig Tree, the Ewingsdale restaurant his parents opened in 1981. Growing up with three brothers, he remembers childhood days in the paddocks, the sound of the kitchen, and the sense of family that made the place unique. At 19, Che set off wit...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Knight - one of Australia’s most celebrated writers and producers of film and television. Raised in Burwood, Melbourne, Andrew recalls a “boring” childhood in the 1950s, a time still shadowed by the war, where his love of storytelling first took shape through plays and characters. A scholarship to Melbourne University and later Monash set h...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Sam Saulwick - co-founder of The Bread Social and long-time Byron Bay local with deep ties to the town’s hospitality scene. Sam was born in Colombia and adopted by a Byron Bay family, moving here in 1983. His family quickly became part of the community, running the Beach Café from 1984 and later Oriental Express, one of the town’s go-to restaurant...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Linda Sparrow - long-time Bangalow local, former media buyer, and the passionate force behind Bangalow Koalas. Linda grew up in the Blue Mountains before building a life in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, eventually settling in Bangalow over two decades ago with her mum. She shares reflections on the sense of belonging she found in the Northern Rivers, th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Steve Snow - celebrated seafood chef, founder of the iconic Fins Restaurant, and lifelong lover of food, family, and the ocean. Born on the Gold Coast and raised in Cronulla, Steve’s path didn’t start in the kitchen. He began with business and law, but quickly realised the corporate life wasn’t for him. What followed was a leap into a world where he...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Tim Watson-Munro, renowned criminal psychologist and author of Dancing with Demons and A Shrink in the Clink . Tim’s career began in Sydney, where he studied psychology at university before taking on the role of resident psychologist at Parramatta Gaol at just 25 years old. He shares stories from his time working in the prison system, including the w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Amanda Gorvin, General Manager of the Byron Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Originally from the Central Coast, Amanda began her career in sport, working with the Queensland Reds in ticketing and membership. A trip to Lennox Head in 2005 left a lasting impression - she instantly felt at home. Years later, during the COVID lockdowns, Amanda made the move to Le...