Police Break Through Gate To Shut Down ‘Illegal Rave’ Festival

A police focus on illegal drugs at music festivals and events in New South Wales continued over the weekend after a launch party for the Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival was shut down.

The electronic music and arts festival has been running for six years at a private valley near Byron Bay on the Easter weekend and were hosting a launch event last Saturday at Ebor, 110 kilometres west of Coffs Harbour. With up to 150 patrons at the party, police and Forestry Rangers arrived at the event, which they describe as an “illegal rave party” with “concerns of illicit drug use”.

According to local reports, police discovered the event’s secret location after promoters issued directions to punters. There had been previous attempts by Coffs Harbour City Council to stop the event at other rumoured venues.

Upon arrival authorities were allegedly denied entry to the property and organisers produced a hand-written note from the property’s owner, giving them permission to host the event.

The property adjoins Forestry Commission land on the Styx River and in an attempt to stop the event authorities began clearing the forestry land. Party organisers reacted by moving attendees to an adjacent private property, allegedly telling punters that police “could not stop them”.

According to a police report they then made contact with the land owner who subsequently revoked permission for the party. At 5.30pm police demanded that organisers shut down the party and cut open and broke through locked gates when those demands were not heeded. They cleared the lands and also set up a road block to turn away patrons looking to attend the event.

The festival has not addressed the raid directly, but told fans on their Facebook that it was “Such a shame” that one of their specially-designed stages “didn't get to give all the energy that was intended” at the launch party.

“We are very happy to provide support to organisers who want to hold events in the area, but only if they seek appropriate approvals and do not put the community at risk,” said Detective Inspector Darren Jameson, the Local Area Command Crime Manager for Coffs/Clarence.

“Any organisers of these types of events who are determined to flaunt the law will face the full-force of it from my officers.”