Latest news with #FallsFestival
News.com.au
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Buyers sing the right tune on original home of Falls Festival
The music may have long faded into the distance at the original home of the Falls Festival near Lorne, but the property may not be silent forever. The famous Great Ocean Road hinterland property has sold after a second attempt as a New South Wales buyer emerged to secure the 68ha farming site from Live Nation Australia. Ray White Rural Victoria director Jason Hellyer, who handled the sale, said the property presented as a lifestyle, tourism or education opportunity that attracted seven written offers by the end of the campaign. The property has ultimately sold for at least $2.5m. At its peak, the Erskine Falls Rd property was capable of accommodating more than 15,000 music fans at the annual New Year's Eve multi-day event. The Otways property near the Great Ocean Road resort town hosted the Falls event between 1993 and 2018. The owners poured a significant investment into the Falls Festival site to accommodate music fans and Australian and global artists, such as Iggy Pop, Blondie, Silverchair, The Black Eyed Peas, Billy Bragg and Radio Birdman. The last event at Lorne was cancelled after one night because of extreme fire risk, which ultimately forced organisers to seek an alternative site. Attempts to relocate to a venue near Birregurra failed to gain planning permission from the Colac Otway Shire. A farm manager has maintained the property, which hosts an impressive list of buildings and infrastructure, including the main stage. Mr Hellyer said the site offered significant upside for buyers considering short-stay accommodation or commercial opportunities, such as a school camp. The Great Ocean Road attracts more than 7 million visitors a year. Although some of the concert infrastructure has been relocated to other sites around the country, the main stage, medical centre, 3-phase power and water infrastructure remain. There's also a network of drivable tracks that traverse through the Otway forest leading to a campsite complete with a kitchen hut. There was widespread interest in the property from Melbourne and even one from Malaysia, Mr Hellyer said. 'It's a nice parcel of land that plenty of people wanted to learn more about,' he said. 'We probably ran about 20 inspections.' Mr Hellyer said the majority of interest was in the hospitality and tourism aspects offered at the property. 'It's fair to say that it sounds like that's the intention with the new purchaser.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Steph Gilmore: ‘I was looking for something more, in myself and in my surfing'
Stephanie Gilmore, the most successful women's surfer of all time, is back. Last weekend, the 37-year-old returned to the World Surf League (WSL) for the first time in two seasons, as a wildcard at the Gold Coast Pro. But unsure of how she would fare, against competitors who had not even been born when Gilmore first started winning WSL events, the Australian came armed with a good excuse. 'I'm playing on stage with Spiderbait,' Gilmore said ahead of a concert which took place on Sunday on the sidelines of the event. 'So I've actually got something that's taken my mind off the surfing, which is kind of nice. Maybe it's a cop-out, but if I don't do well in the competition I can just blame it on all the band practice I have to do.' Advertisement Gilmore, a guitarist, first performed with Spiderbait at Falls Festival in Byron Bay a decade ago, and has since joined the Australian rockers for a number of surfing-adjacent gigs. 'Steph is a double mega shredder!' the band said recently. But Gilmore needed no excuses; she advanced comfortably through the opening round on Saturday, sending junior world champion Luana Silva to the elimination round. After several lay-days, with small surf, Gilmore was back in the water on Thursday, winning her way through to the quarter-finals with victory over defending world champion Caitlin Simmers. Related: 'Best day of my life', 'surreal and special': Australian victories at Bells Beach mean more to local surfers | Kieran Pender 'It's pretty exciting,' Gilmore says. She opted out of the 2024 WSL campaign to focus on other surfing pursuits, and then again decided to miss the current 2025 season. But Gilmore had never flagged the possibility of retirement – a return to competition has always been on the cards. On the Gold Coast, the wildcard enables her to test the waters. Advertisement The quality of women's elite surfing has improved markedly in recent years – thanks in part to equal prize money since 2019 and an integrated tour schedule from 2022. Last year the women charged heavy Tahitian barrels at Teahupo'o, while an exciting new generation of female surfers (including Australians such as Milla Brown and Sierra Kerr) are as proficient in the air as their male counterparts. 'I'm being very honest with myself, in how I go into this, and my expectations are definitely on the lower side,' Gilmore says. 'I've been watching the women's tour the last couple of years, and the talent has risen to new heights. To win the events you've really got to be producing some excellent surfing. I'm just going to enjoy the journey.' Gilmore's return to the competitive rash-vest against a field of young prodigies is a full-circle moment; it was once the Australian, a teenage surf star, downing more-fancied veterans. 'I was once that 18, 19-year-old, in my first years on tour,' she says. 'I remember coming up against my heroes – it was the best feeling ever, to try and beat them.' Gilmore's 2022 world title – the eighth of her career – elevated her above Layne Beachley's haul of seven, which had long been the defining mark of greatness. 'That was my dream – I really wanted to beat Layne's record,' Gilmore says. 'It really put a great exclamation mark on my achievements in my career, I would say probably the best performance of my career. It was a dream come true.' Advertisement But then, after finishing sixth in 2023, Gilmore decided to take a break. 'I've spent 17 years on tour,' she says. 'I've had a lot of great success, really achieved my main goal – to win an eighth world title. I was looking for something more, in myself and in my surfing.' Gilmore took time off from chasing event wins to search for new waves, trial new equipment and spend 'a lot less time on aeroplanes', she says. 'The tour schedule is quite gruelling.' Already this year, WSL surfers have gone from Hawaii to a wave pool in Abu Dhabi, to Portugal, to El Salvador, and to Australia, in barely four months. After the three-leg Australian stop, those who survive the mid-season cut will head to the United States, Brazil, South Africa and Tahiti. That's a lot of jet lag. 'It's been nice to spend a lot of time at home, see my family and friends a lot more,' Gilmore says. ' But if anything, it's really just made me appreciate how good the life is that I got to live on tour – and the one I continue to live now. I just want to travel and surf, it really is the best, most fun thing in the world.' Advertisement Will a return to the WSL in 2026 follow? It is likely, although not guaranteed, that Gilmore would be granted a season-long wildcard for the next campaign, removing the need for the Australian to qualify through the second-tier Challenger series. The format has also been rejigged, with next year's title to be determined by overall points rather than a final event (reverting to the format that delivered Gilmore seven of her eight world titles). 'I'm going to surf this event [on the Gold Coast] and see what happens,' she says. 'There are some changes happening on the world tour for the future years, and that's definitely getting me excited to see if I can have another crack. But there are no set decisions just yet – we'll see what happens.' With an emerging generation of young stars on tour, including 19-year-old Simmers, 20-year-old Silva and 22-year-old Molly Picklum, plus the likes of Kerr and Brown not far behind them, Gilmore is realistic about her longevity in the sport. Related: Sierra and Josh Kerr: father-daughter duo who are the past, present and future of surfing | Kieran Pender Advertisement 'It feels like there's a massive amount of young women in this next generation that are just pushing the boundaries,' she says. 'For me, my time is probably pretty limited in terms of winning. If I'm going to do it, I probably have a pretty short window in the next few years to do any more winning before it's just too hard to beat these young women.' Gilmore is 37; her male equivalent, Kelly Slater, the greatest of all-time, only recently stopped surfing on the WSL regularly. Now in his early 50s, Slater won his last WSL event just three years ago. 'Kelly's a freak,' says Gilmore. 'He's a hard one to use as an example.' But she says better support around health and recovery has helped career longevity, together with a healthy mindset. 'The main thing I get from Kelly is his mind – he stays youthful in his mind,' she says. 'Everything is fun and life is a wonderful adventure. He's just like a little kid who wants to travel and surf – he's one of the most passionate surfers on the planet. I think that is what has kept him so youthful, and his surfing is still up there with the best in the world at over 50 years of age. He's a huge inspiration.' Gilmore says she is taking things one step at a time – starting with the next heat at Burleigh Heads. But although the surfing great has not yet made up her mind about returning to the WSL full-time, she is certainly not ruling out the prospect of a charge at a ninth world title. Advertisement 'If I'm going to compete on the tour, that's what I'm going for,' she says, matter-of-factly. 'I'm not just going there to be another jersey. So that's the plan. I'll see what happens. I think it would be cool to keep going, imagine getting to Kelly's number [11 world titles]. That would be crazy.' Gilmore pauses for a moment, reflecting on the magnitude of the suggestion. 'I don't think I could do that. But, I don't know…!' Alongside another world title or three, there is another aspiration keeping Gilmore in a competition rash-vest. 'When I look at the Olympics, 2032 in Australia, I'm like – that would be super cool, to be able to surf in the Olympic Games at home here on the east coast of Australia.' Gilmore will be in her mid-40s come the Brisbane Olympics; she represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when surfing made its Games debut. Brisbane 2032 is, she admits, 'a pretty out-there dream.' But Stephanie Gilmore is back – and still dreaming big.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Iconic music festival site that hosted The Wiggles, Black Eyed Peas and Silverchair finds new owner after two-year ordeal
After sitting on the market for nearly two years, the original site of Victoria's iconic Falls Festival has finally found a buyer. The 59-hectare patch of land nestled in the Great Otway National Park at Lorne – which played host to some of the biggest names in music over its 25-year history – has officially been sold, with plans already on the table. From 1993 to 2018, the regional Victorian property – located 140km from Melbourne - became synonymous with summer fun, drawing over 15,000 festivalgoers each year. Legendary acts like Blondie, Iggy Pop, The Wiggles, The Black Eyed Peas, Childish Gambino, Paul Kelly, Silverchair and John Farnham all graced its stage over the decades. But in 2019, the party was put on hold after the Black Summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic later forced a pause on festivities. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. In the years that followed, the Falls Festival shifted locations, with editions held in Byron Bay, Melbourne, and Fremantle. In 2023, the Lorne property hit the market with a $4million price tag but failed to find a buyer. It was re-listed in February this year at a reduced price guide from $2.25million to $2.5million. This time, the deal went through – though the final sale price remains under wraps. The sale included a total of 68 hectares across three lots – two cleared parcels described as 'blank canvases', and the main festival site, complete with a stage, manager's cottage, toilets, and several outbuildings. Listing agent Jason Hellyer from Ray White Rural confirmed the sale had been finalised. He told Domain the new owners are still determining what they will be doing with the site. In 2023, it was reported that Falls Festival's highly-anticipated New Year's Eve event had been cancelled. 'After an impressive 28 years ringing in the New Year with some of the world's biggest acts, the Falls team are today switching on their OOO's and taking this New Year's season off to rest, recover and recalibrate,' a statement read. 'We send huge love and appreciation to all our patrons for their ongoing support and for the great vibes they bought to the 2022/2023 events.' However, Falls producer Jessica Ducrou hinted the festival isn't over for good, but just on hiatus for now. 'The past few years has seen unprecedented change in the live music space, both front of house and behind the scenes,' she said, according to Triple J. 'While Falls' reboot in 2022/23 was full of amazing moments and we were thrilled to reconnect with our Falls Fam, our team needs a break. 'We'll take time off to enjoy the holiday period and allow some space to re-imagine how Falls will look in the future.'
Time Out
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Five beloved music festivals in NSW are scoring a huge $2.25 million in funding
Splendour In The Grass? Cancelled. Falls Festival? Did not happen. Groovin the Moo? RIP. Music lovers across NSW mourned the day the music died for these fab festivals – but if you've packed away your gumboots and glitter, there's good news. The NSW Government has just stepped in to help five music festivals avoid the fate suffered by many others forced to fold in recent years – and the revival of Spilt Milk is proof that things are on the up. The first round of the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund, established in September 2024, has allocated a combined $2.25 million of emergency funding to five music fests. The lucky winners are Bluesfest in Byron Bay, Lost Paradise on the Central Coast, Yours and Owls in Wollongong, plus Listen Out and Field Day (both held in Sydney). Missed out on scoring funding for your favourite fest? Applications for the next round of funding open from May 1. Even before the pandemic, music festivals have felt the impact of rising costs, inflation, insurance nightmares, and changes in ticket buying, so this financial support has hit the right note in helping festivals manage costs while keeping the vibe alive. After all, music festivals aren't just fun – they're big business, too. NSW's festival scene supports over 14,000 jobs and pumps big bucks into local economies. Bluesfest, which was supposed to be in its final year this Easter long weekend, is proof of how ticket sales and financial help make such a big difference. Music lovers bought tickets thinking it would be their last chance to attend Bluesfest; this resulted in over 109,000 attendees – the third largest crowd in the event's 35-year history. For the promoters, it was proof enough that people want music festivals – and contrary to their 'last ever Bluesfest' marketing strategy for 2025, they're already planning for 2026. The Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, John Graham who attended Bluesfest, explained: 'The post-Covid era has been a financial nightmare for music festivals in NSW… the feedback is that this fund has helped some of these festivals survive. People of all ages love the outdoor music festival experience and the artists they discover. The festival circuit is a vital part of the live music industry which employs almost 15,000 people. It's too important to lose, that's why we're backing festivals with emergency funding and reforms that bring down their costs.'
