The Pass

The Pass is at the eastern end of Byron Bay's main beach, under Cape Byron — the most easterly point of mainland Australia. It is a point break producing a long right-hand wave that peels toward Clarkes Beach, and it is the reason Byron became what it is.

The town's history is unusual for a resort. Byron was a working port and then an industrial town — whaling until 1962, meatworks, sand mining — and its transformation into a surf and counterculture destination happened from the late 1960s, after the industries closed. The whaling station operated at the base of the cape, processing several thousand humpbacks; the same whales now pass the point twice a year on migration and are watched from the lighthouse above.

The wave is long, forgiving on a small swell and crowded at all times. The line-up at The Pass is well known for being competitive, and the beach is patrolled with flags separating swimmers from surfers. Dolphins are in the water most days and turtles are common. Rip currents run along the point. Cape Byron itself is a state conservation area, and the walk around the headland to the lighthouse takes about an hour with the whole coastline visible from the top.

Development is a town that has become expensive and is visibly straining — housing costs, traffic, and a permanent tension between the population and the volume of visitors. The council has introduced parking charges and restrictions in response. Wategos, around the point, is the sheltered family beach, and Tallow Beach on the southern side of the cape runs seven kilometres with far fewer people and a stronger current.

A long right-hander under the most easterly point of the mainland, and a line-up that is crowded and competitive at every hour. Beginners belong at the main beach. Whales pass the cape twice a year close enough to see from the lighthouse walk, and the town's housing crisis is as visible as the surf.