Ballina

Distinguished and Famous people from Ballina

Ballina's notable connections include a race walker who developed through the local athletics club and a tug operator whose work helped vessels enter the Richmond River. The waterfront is part of both stories, through sporting commemoration and maritime history.

🏅 Kerry Saxby-Junna

Kerry Saxby-Junna moved to Ballina at thirteen and took up race walking through Ballina Athletic Club after initially competing as a swimmer and runner. She went on to represent Australia at three Olympics, finishing seventh in the 20-kilometre walk at Sydney in 2000. Commonwealth Games gold and world championship medals also marked her career. Her local association is an upbringing and club connection, with a riverside walkway named in her honour.

⚓ Thomas Fenwick

Captain Thomas Fenwick became a major figure in Ballina's nineteenth-century port through his tug service. Bringing vessels across the Richmond River bar demanded practical seamanship, and his business also included river transport and a slipway for maintaining vessels. Fenwick House at Shaws Bay remains a conspicuous reminder of that success. The mansion tells one part of the story; the working waterfront and the ships he handled tell the other.