NRG's philanthropy in developing this site was to help extend the range, diversity, and local links in its vision in a comparable way to Greening Australia's expansion and linking of the remnants of the "Big Scrub" rainforest that covered much of this area prior to white settlement. Specific IT/Industry goals and objectives need to be established by the region with time frames of say 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2050 to help create a more sustainable future for the region including employment.

At this point in time, this concept is still in the melting pot although there is continuing interest in the New States movement whereby the northenr rivers seceeds from NSW

Northern Rivers Gateway (NRG) evolved out an active involvement with the establishment of the Byron Shire Telecottage (funded by the Department of Primary Industry & Energy) and then the Northern Rivers Telecentre (privately funded) both of which made contributions to the development of a Information/Multi Media culture in the northern rivers of NSW, Australia.

The development of a regional community information service was floated in 1992 with links to the regional libraries, telecentres and the Southern Cross University. In June 1993, all the general managers of the Shire Councils from Grafton to the Qld border were addressed by Steve at the Byron Bay library about the desirability of helping to establish a regional information service to ensure the northern rivers population became "information rich" (now known as NORLINK).

The concept was put to the Kelty Task Force in November 1993 with the important additions of a complimentary regional IT industry and teleworking. This proposal as a regional development issue had conceptually more synergism with the "green" lifestyle ambitions of the population embracing "small is beautiful" and was a blue sky industry with higher growth and income potential than the alternative "smoke stack" scenario which was also being pushed as the way to go.

In the period of 1994/95 the Northern Rivers Telecentre (NRTC) was involved in multi media training as well as a number of IT projects including a touchscreen kiosk (Silicon Forest), co-ordinating a Co-Operative Multi Media Centre (CMC) bid on behalf of the region.

In December 1994, NRTC developed a bulletin board service called NORECS (Northern Rivers Electronic Community Service - now known as NORLINK) which was launched by Mr Harry Woods, MLA and contained regional information and had dial-in capabilities which was the prelude to the Internet service Northern Rivers Gateway (NRG) which grew out of it and was launched in July 1995. Steve was on the NORLINK committee from 1993 to 1997.

NRG is an Internet Access Provider as well as an electronic publisher and web page developer. In June 1997, NRG helped established Big River Internet (Maclean/Grafton) on behalf of the Nungera Housing Co-Operative which is the first aboriginal Internet service provider in Australia.

NRG are also involved in providing Industry/Professional Placement/Work Experience with students from the Southern Cross University (School of Humanities, Media and Asian Studies) and North Coast Institute of TAFE (Information Technology Section of Wollongbar College), Trinity College and have provided work experience for a number of students in different aspects of the Internet business. There was also financial support for Australia's only non metropolitan community TV station, LINC TV situated in Lismore.

NRG has a philosophy that embraces the community, freedom of speech, freedom of an independent press and has a vision to help cultivate and expand the "Silicon Forest" of the northern rivers in recognition of the many talented people who have moved to this area over the last 30 years. These people have come from around the world attracted to the scenic splendour of the region with reputedly the 2nd highest population of artists per capita in Australia after Balmain, Sydney.

The region is now recognised around the world as one of the "islands of light" as the lifestyle capital of Australia renowned for the development of sustainability issues and alternative lifestyles, health and religion.

The region had attracted filmmakers and writers to the area since the 1960's due to the famous surf beaches at Byron Bay, Broken Head, Lennox Head, Angourie and numerous other locations in the region.

Some of these film makers, and surf celebrities moved to the North Coast semi - permanently to make films, surfboards, publish magazines etc and included such notables as George Greenough, the legendary "in the tube" filmmaker and kneeboard rider who resides at Broken Head in his glass pyramid, World Surfing Champion surfers Nat Young (Angourie near Yamba) and Rusty Miller (Byron Bay), Paul Witzig the film maker and architect (Palmers Island near Yamba) all moving here in the late 1960's. With these people came the legendary lifestyle which was further refined in the 1970's with the Aquarius Festival held at Nimbin north of Lismore in 1973 which generated a new influx of people with alternative lifestyle ambitions to the region. The region now boasts one of the most culturally rich and diverse lifestyles in Australia which augers well for the future in terms of regional development and employment generation.
 

Some other visions for the region are found below;

Backgrounds: Lady's Finger Banana.