Announcing a New Award for 2019 – $1000 Ocean Shores Golden Jubilee Award

2019 is the 50th anniversary of the official founding of Ocean Shores on the 29th March, 1969. A significant historical moment for our community. To acknowledge this occasion, we are partnering with the Ocean Shores Golden Jubilee Committee (GJC) who are sponsoring a $1000 Art Award, to be judged & presented by the G J Committee on the Awards night.

See Ocean Shores Historical photos here!

Judging Criteria:
To be eligible for the Golden Jubilee Award, artists will need to create a work in any of the six Art Expo categories which applies the theme “Celebrating A Moment” to an aspect of the history of Ocean Shores.*

Note: Under the terms of the Ocean Shores Art Expo conditions of entry, the winning artwork would be for sale & also be eligible in the overall judging process for the established annual awards.

Jan Mangleson, the Chair of the Golden Jubilee Committee has provided this information to assist artists.

*Ocean Shores and district refers to the coastal area north of the Brunswick River, up to the Tweed border at Wooyung Road.  This is the extent of the northern land purchases made by Wendell West. The town of Ocean Shores and the villages of Billinudgel, South Golden Beach and New Brighton, plus rural areas of The Pocket, Middle Pocket, Yelgun, Wooyung make up this district of The Pocket Valley and Northern Byron coast.


“In 1969, the development of the town of Ocean Shores officially began on 29th March, with the opening of the new administration building (the Roundhouse) by the NSW State Minister for Housing and Co-operatives, The Hon. S. T. Stephens, and a large crowd of invited guests. The clubhouse was also built by the Ocean Shores developers, as well as the golf course, sales office (now the motel), Orana Bridge, Orana apartments, Billinudgel Industrial estate, Tyagarah airport, roads and services infrastructure, residential allotments etc..

The history of this town and of this district goes back probably about three or four millennia with the coming of the Minjumbil Durrungbil Ngarkwal people to the north coast, and in more recent times of the coming of the European timber getters and later the farmers.  In 1849 Steve King and the Boyd brothers sailed into the Brunswick River, anchored in Readings Bay and made camp beside the fresh water creek near the Ocean Shores Tavern.  This is the first European settlement in the future Byron Shire.  The town of Ocean Shores began in 1968/9 when about a dozen dairy farms were purchased by Wendell West Australia Pty Ltd and work began. A Deed of Agreement with various statutory authorities and the owners of the dairy farms was officially signed later in the year, detailing the future development of the town.”