Lismore is a family-friendly area and a great place to bring up kids. Lismore is characterised by tolerance, ready acceptance of new ideas and a sense of pride in belonging to an incredibly rich and varied community. There’s a place for everyone: business people, artists and musicians, farmers and orchardists, students and academics, hipsters, tree-changers, tradies, nurses and medicos, clever entrepreneurs and proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The Lismore region is rich in Aboriginal cultural knowledge which continues to be passed down from generation to generation. It is one part of the traditional lands of a number of tribes of the Bundjalung Nation, who are all connected through a shared language, customs, belief systems and trade routes. These tribal or language groups are made up of clans – extended families with a common ancestry and a deep connection to Country.
Lismore is home to a vibrant LGBTIQ community and the renowned Tropical Fruits organisation. More than 5,000 people from throughout Australia and around the world travel to Lismore at the end of each year for the largest LGBTIQ event in the Southern Hemisphere outside Sydney’s Mardi Gras - the Tropical Fruits New Year’s Eve Festival. This event generates significant economic benefits for Lismore and its surrounds and is a treasured feature of city life.
As successive Australian citizenship ceremonies attest, Lismore attracts people from around the world and their contribution to community life is immeasurable. The city is home to people from over 80 countries. Migrant and refugee arrivals have opened successful businesses, completed tertiary qualifications and enriched cultural, sporting and culinary life in Lismore.
