The Roaming Beach Kids of Byron Bay

Meet a close-knit community of homeless teens who sleep in tents, get high, scavenge for food and become family—all on the fringes of Australia’s ritziest resorts.

Photos by Rudiger Wasser

The gypsy kids’ campground would be beautiful, if not for the debris. A baked bean can, water bottle, and a dog bowl are scattered on the dirt amongst three deflated tents and piles of soiled blankets. There’s a pink massage claw, a tabloid magazine and liquor bottles.

The squatter camps like this one in the hinterland surrounding Byron Bay are illegal, but easy to find; behind the main strip, Jonson Street, walk a few meters inland, and tents appear. Neon-green, foliage-topped rosewood trees join baby blue sky; the salty summer air steadies on ninety by noon. Waves tumble nearby.