‘54 per cent of Byron Bay residents aged 20-69 are single… after the age of 30, these singles are mostly female.’

That’s what leading Australian Demographer and KMPG partner Bernard Salt wrote in an article published in the Australian newspaper last week.

Stunned and amazed (and contemplating moving to Byron), I wanted to know why such a high number of singles in Byron? Of course, Bernard had his own theories, but Bernard isn’t a local. I decided to follow up on this by interviewing Byron resident and leading Australian social researcher and commentator Dr Karen Brooks.

But before I spoke with Dr Brooks, I wanted to know how that statistic would weigh up against the population of singles in the same age bracket, living in one of Byron’s neighbouring towns – one of its inland counterparts. Let’s look at Lismore.

Being single and 24 and a resident of Lismore, I sometimes feel like a bit of an anomaly in this town. Curious, I jumped on the ABS website, scoured the 2006 census data, population statistics by region… Lismore 2480… located! I did the math and no surprises here: in terms of its ‘degree of singledom’, Lismore is basically at the opposite end of the spectrum compared with Byron – approximately 27% of Lismore residents aged 20-64 is single.

Next step: I seek out the professional opinion of contemporary culture expert Dr Karen Brooks: author and senior lecturer in Media Studies at Southern Cross University. “54% sounds phenomenally high – is that really so?” she said, equally gobsmacked.

Her theories about communities that contain a large proportion of singles didn’t diverge greatly from those of Mr Salt. Like him, she makes reference to the transitory nature of the population in Byron Bay. By definition, singles are less likely to settle in one place: they tend to move around more.

“Byron Bay is your ideal sea change town. It’s a place where a lot of people seem to come to reinvent themselves, perhaps after things have taken a turn in their lives – sea changers come from the cities to settle here and kind of start afresh.

“It’s the ideal place to come to escape your past life because it’s a holiday town, packed with cafes, pubs and clubs, plenty of places to socialize – all the kinds of things singles like to engage in, without the hectic city lifestyle,” she said.

I asked her about her thoughts on the number of singles in Byron versus the number of singles in Lismore.

“I presume a great proportion of people have grown up in inland country towns like Lismore and remain and settle in these towns. So you’d find more married people as it’s much more of a sort of family-oriented community than say, Byron,” she says.

She also has her own theory on Northern Rivers residents as a whole. “I call them ‘Boomerang Residents”, she says. “It’s a trend, and I think this is a very real phenomenon in the Northern Rivers, where people grow up here, leave at a young age, explore the world and then come back to settle,” she adds.

“That’s me!” I shout, excited. What is it about our communities that draws us back?

“They return for the positive energy of the place,” says Dr Brooks. “These towns have a really strong community atmosphere, they’re aesthetically beautiful with the combination of bushland and beach and without being exceedingly expensive… plus perfect weather and a relaxed laid-back vibe…. it ticks all the boxes.”  

Posted: Saturday August 30, 2008