From the Editor

This issue of The Bangalow Herald is a reminder that our community is not just a place – it’s a conversation.
Across these pages, you’ll find stories shaped by different voices, experiences and values: from the fierce beauty of queer performance to the calm focus of horsemanship, to a heartfelt call for blood donors from the Stockdale family, and the insights of many with a dream of reclaiming the Bangalow Bowlo.
These stories might seem unrelated, but together they reflect something vital – that community engagement and representation aren’t just nice ideas. They’re the tools we use to understand each other. To make space for truth. To build something stronger than the sum of our parts.
When people are invited to speak – and are actually listened to – they show up. Whether it’s through surveys, storytelling, or stepping into the spotlight for the first time, every voice adds nuance, depth and diversity to our picture of this region.
Sometimes that picture is joyful, like a dance on the beach. Sometimes it’s hard to read – confronting, even. But that’s life. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. We can’t turn away from the uncomfortable because we can’t respond clearly to what we don’t fully see.
The local landscape isn’t just about place. It’s about people power, individual and collective identity, hopes and dreams, and belonging.
This issue is a patchwork of those realities.
Thank you to everyone who contributed, responded, showed up, engaged, or simply picked up the magazine. Your voice matters.
Your stories matter.

Sally Schofield

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