Byron Bay is a coastal town in northeastern New South Wales, but the landscape has a much longer human story than its modern resort reputation suggests. The Bundjalung of Byron Bay Arakwal people identify this place as Cavanbah, a meeting place, and describe a continuing relationship with Country that reaches back at least 22,000 years. Their country includes beaches, estuaries, forest, farmland and sea. Visitors who start with that context see the headland and shoreline not as empty scenery but as a lived cultural landscape with responsibilities attached to it.
Walgun, the headland known to many visitors as Cape Byron, is the easternmost point of mainland Australia. Arakwal knowledge explains its name as “the Shoulder” and records its importance as a place for ceremony, learning and outlook. The corporation also identifies The Pass and nearby beaches as culturally significant places, including archaeological midden material that is being protected with Aboriginal community partners. These are not attractions to enter or collect from: stay on public paths, follow signs and respect any restricted or sensitive areas.