Lismore is an Australian rural "city" found in the Northern Rivers in the state of NSW. It has a population of around 28,000 people give or take, with a land area of 1.269 square kilometres. Established in 1856 (44 years before Australian federation) by English settlers, this area was inhabited by tribes of the Bundjalung nation tens of thousands of years prior. Lismore is named after a place in Scotland, the name hails from the Gaelic words "Lios Mor" which means the big fort. Being just over 30km from the ocean the small town lies next to the Wilson river which makes it prone to floods. After a considerable amount of rain, the area fills with water fast with nowhere to flow to due to being built on low set ground. This comes to influence everything about Lismore as it comes to be considered the flood capital of Australia. However, there is quite a lot more to the quaint town that I was born in. 

 

Full of primarily main roads which would lead to gridded streets and avenues of residential neighbourhoods old and new. The core of Lismore is made up of a number of small town businesses. Most of these businesses are of the retail and service industry variety providing locals with a number of spaces downtown for locals to buy goods. Sitting at the bottom of a hill, two shopping districts are separated by

cricket and soccer fields. The first shopping spot is simply known at 'The Square' which operates as a large literal square mall of mostly commercial chain retail businesses. The Square rests atop cement pylons ​with an equally sized carpark directly underneath it. It is here where a majority of the towns residents park their car in refuge of the fairly common hail storm. The next section of businesses is commonly referred to as 'Downtown', a multi block gridded town centre made up of a variety of different cafes and restaurants which are wholly represented of the Lismore attitude. The businesses in this area are uniquely Lismore, with a few of those commercial chain kinds of businesses sprinkled throughout. A particular cafe which means a lot to me is 'The Bank', the first ever cafe I'd ever been to as well as a place where I would meet up with the most special people in my life. Of the other service venues downtown, they are quite simple, of the what you see is what you get, striking the perfect medium between being overwhelmed and underwhelmed by the experience Another kind of weather event influences the way in which this section is shaped is flooding. This very existential threat influences much of the architectural shape of Lismore's residential neighbourhoods. Walking through any of the streets close to the town centre the high stilted houses with high climbing stairs are immediately obvious. Much of the man made structures are surrounded with trees and shrubbery to give the town a very green and natural look. The cleanliness of the streets and fresh air allows most of the population to spend most of their time outside and develop a strong relationship with nature.

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As a working class country town, Lismore is under the political influence of Nationals and the Labor Party. In a number of ways Lismore represents what is most charming about colonial Australia's origins.With it's fair share of farming, mostly of the dairy kind, Lismore boasts a community of hardworking tradesman and farmers. The towns economy is diverse, relying upon the industries of eduction and training, retail trade, construction and the most significant contribution being the health sector. In recent years the town has experienced a growth in GDP, sitting at 3.109 billion dollars, up 5.5% from the previous year. As stated previously the most dominant factor in this growth is due to the large contributions of the health sector, coupled with social assistance account for 25% of the work force. Lismore's religious make up is heavily dominated by 43% of christians, interestingly equal to the proportion of the secular population. These statistics however, fail to represent to real character of the population. Since the 1960's  the free love movement, free spirited, new age religion culture was brought to the region of the Northern Rivers along with a heavy influence of LSD to provide a number of liberal movements around the area. Most prominent of this attitude in the area was the town of Nimbin, just over 30 kilometres away from Lismore. Following the collapse of dairy farming through the 1960s due to a recession, Nimbin would reconstruct itself due to a large population of hippies coming to the town for the culmination of the Aquarius festival, held in 1973. The free spirited population would settle around the town with a large influx into the heavily populated Lismore in comparison. This influx would create a culture of Indigenous acceptance and love of land that still largely influences the attitude of Lismore today. Lismore has always had a preservationist and sustainable ethos which would stand in defiance of the logging of Terania Creek or the presence of coal seam gas. When the 2022 floods had completely submerged the town, the core image of 'the heart' emerged as the town struggled to heal after such an immense tragedy. An understanding of natures wrath was immediately felt, awaking the entire population to the fragility of our place on this Earth. The community would go on depending on each other and supporting each other to rebuild everything that was lost. My grandparents being part of that population benefitted immensely from the spirit of the community in piecing their life back together through the spirit of the heart. It is exceedingly rare to see such decent behaviour of such a population of decent people who are all indebted to their own community. 

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On the education front, Lismore is home to quite a lot of primary schools within the town and its neighbouring towns falling under Lismore's jurisdiction of localities. The high schools are much less in comparison, the options are between strictly private Christian schools and larger population public schools. Situated all over town the high schools are: Blue Hill College, Kadina, Lismore High, Richmond River, Trinity Collage and St John's College Woodlawn. In terms of tertiary education the options are Southern Cross University and Lismore TAFE for trade specific education and training. Many students graduating from high school will often move to close by cities with more resources or closer to the bottom of the country for an incredibly large amount of opportunities and scenery change. Locals who stay in Lismore will find themselves either studying to carry out a lot of those highly sought after and lucrative services roles, or learn a trade and go on to become certified and start their own business. Much like the housing market in general, housing prices in Lismore can be quite overvalued. However, these prices can be viewed as much more affordable in comparison to close by cities for families looking to settle down and find a place to plant their roots. This is proven the case by the fact that 49.2% of homes in Lismore are owner occupied. This creates a town's population of quiet, hardworking people in search of of local prosperity. I was born and raised in the town of Lismore and left at the age of eighteen. I often return to visit a lot of my family and stay at my childhood home. I always encounter the same feeling of squeezing into really old pants that you have long outgrown. A sensation of finding the scope of the world and packing it all into a small space. But that small space works the other way to inform a lot of the scope of the world. It resonates every time I smell fresh grass in the morning and see the dew hanging off it, I remember playing rugby league as a twelve year old. Before the game I would be running in place trying to warm myself up on the field that belonged to my future high school. The beautiful spirit of my hometown which lives on within myself wherever I go, can be found in small moments like these. Moments of rural simplicity, the nature of my hometown which I have only found in the Northern Rivers. With more experience I find I wouldn't trade the place I grew up in for anything in the world. It continues to grow in me and the way I interact with the world. When I visit lately and see the destruction of the floods I am deeply saddened to see the desolate stores. I drive past the cinemas which are now closed and think of a first kiss or a cheap Thursday night with my family when we could afford it. It's heartbreaking to know that building will stand there as a ghost of my old memories without a chance of collecting more from other people. My whole lineage has come from this area, to see a desolate and abandoned town centre is harrowing. I believe in the strength and resilience of these people because I am one of them, and I need that same belief in healing for myself.

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I am excited to watch as the town rebuilds itself and leans on each other to grow. A heart requires a certain amount of relaxation and rest before returning to a regimented amount of exercise and building back strength. I hope to be apart of that rebuilding in the future. I believe in the spirit that I grew up with because it provides me the strength and context with which I need to get through every day. As I grow I hope to represent the spirit of my hometown the best I know how. I hope I can show this spirit to as many people I can come into contact with and return back to my home. To provide a way forward for the people from the same place, to build it up the same way I build myself. I am the heart.