The thousands who flocked to Byron Bay for the Jetty opening celebrations, in 1888, with horse races and foot races for generous prizes, banquets and a brass band, did not include the dignitaries expected to perform the ceremony. The paperwork hadn’t arrived so they couldn’t officially declare it open, but this meant little to the locals. Beneath a great archway garlanded with local ferns and flowers, they danced.

At the Lighthouse opening, dignitaries failed to arrive on time, once again the people partied. When they did arrive the lighthouse was christened with a vintage burgundy, not dashed against the tower but savoured by the ladies and gentlemen - done without wasting a drop in typical Byron style.

Sand miners working south towards Suffolk Park in the 1960s unearthed an ancient wooden vessel, built with copper nails in the late 15th century. The remains were thrown in the tip. In the 1950s people could remember three masts, 3m long, sticking out of the sand at 45 degrees, hundreds of metres from the beach. They were bulldozed out of the way. A long wooden rudder, thought to be either English or Portuguese, was found buried seven metres deep, and it too has disappeared. One worker is said to have dragged the unearthed prow of an ancient ship home, but at a later barbecue, when firewood was needed…

Ancient buried wrecks show how the coastline has shifted over centuries. It will continue to shift, because that is what it does, and sometimes it’s so quick we can see it day to day.