Byron Bay History Facts and Timeline

(Byron Bay, New South Wales - NSW, Australia)

Byron Bay is one of the most visited tourist towns on the New South Wales coast, with a bohemian feel enjoyed by backpackers, couples and families alike. Byron Bay history is interesting too, dating back to its discovery by Captain James Cook in 1770.

Captain Cook named the Cape Byron area after admired naval officer John Byron, grandfather of the famed British poet, Lord Byron, and a famous circumnavigator. However, indigenous Australians had occupied the land for many centuries before this, when it was known as 'Cavvanbah'.

Early Industries

Europeans began to settle in Byron Bay as early as the 1880s. The first industry was based around timber, with much logging of the resident cedar trees, but the local economy soon centred on food industries, specifically fishing, whaling and dairy farming. The surrounding northern New South Wales countryside is one of the few parts of this dry continent that resembles the United Kingdom, with its conditions being especially suitable for farming and agriculture in general.


This port town was officially named Byron Bay in 1894, the same year that the town enjoyed its first railway connections. Sea travel had already reached the area roughly eight years earlier, when the first jetty was constructed. Byron Bay later became one of the world's biggest butter exporters after the Norco Co-operative was founded here in 1895.

Byron Bay Lighthouse

The Cape Byron Lighthouse is probably the best-known visitor attraction in the town, giving a good glimpse into the early history of Byron Bay. Visitors can reach the lighthouse by completing a 20-minute walk from the car park at the beach. On arrival, they can marvel at this 1901 masterpiece and enjoy the breathtaking views across the Tasman Sea. It also marks the Eastern-most point of Australia.

The lighthouse was designed by one Charles Assinder Harding and completed over the course of a year, at a cost of over £20,000. Nowadays, the lighthouse is the most powerful in the country, whilst also providing a popular whale-watching spot. Many of its 500,000 annual visitors also take part in guided tours, where they can learn more about the lighthouse's history and visit the Flag Room, one of the structure's most distinctive features.

From 1930 to 1960

The years between 1930 and 1960 will not be remembered as the happiest times in the history of Byron Bay. In 1930, the town's dairy industries began to move into the meat trade, leading to a rather unpleasant stench often hanging over the town. Whaling also continued unabated during the 1950s and early 1960s, before finally ending in 1963.

The Tourist Town of Today

The end of whaling in Byron Bay also coincided with the birth of the tourist industry, when long-board surfers began to flock here, making use of the superb and rather plentiful natural breaks.

The town quickly gained a reputation as the place to be among the 'hippy' community, leading to the establishment of the thriving tourist town that is so well known today. Although its 'alternative' roots are still strongly evident, nowadays Byron Bay welcomes all kinds of guests.