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by Rusty Miller
"There has been too little attention paid to social capital...Social
capital refers to the processes between people which establish
networks, norms, social trust and facilitate coordination
and cooperation for mutual benefit. These processes are also
known as social fabric or glue." Eva Cox:
 In
1993/94 our New Years Eve celebration got out of control because
it was not sensitively hosted. It was fantastic front-page
fodder for the national media, with pictures of people diving
off buildings into the crowds. And so in search of a better
act to follow arose the Byron Safety Committee. Unlike the
French Revolution's 'Commite de la Suretee' it sought to insure
locals and visitors to the definition of safety, 'free from
injury and danger,' in the future.
The 'Last
Night, First Light' mission turned out to be much more
than concern about a one day event each year. It has evolved
to represent our communities' resolve to take control of our
affairs and central to our building and practicing the Byron
style of social capital. Anne and Rory O'Halloran, with the
appropriate trades of nursing and building are the prime creators
of First Light. The long distance survival of this interest
group is successful because they have rhymed with the goals
of other community organizations (Green and Clean, Willing
Waste workers, Drain watchers, Stallholder's Assoc. Chamber
of Commerce, BEACON, etc.) This millennium the Byron Shire
Council and even the NSW Government have become involved.
The turn of the Millennium is a significant moment of transition
across time, providing us with a unique opportunity to objectify
our community's collective wishes and dreams for a new beginning;
giving voice to our hopes for the future, while reflecting
upon our shared history. It is a major passage for renewal,
worthy of celebration through art, ritual and festivity. 'Last
Night First Light' millennium celebrations will honour
a commitment to reconcilliation and move forward with a sense
of 'oneness'; embracing cultural diversity and strengthening
identity through communal participation, civic creativity,
spectacle and pageantry. The Byron community politely insists
that visitors take responsibility for not only their conduct,
but also contributing to our building of social capital. When
the locals are happy about having guests, the experience visitors
receive is magical.
Rusty Miller
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