The Yours and Owls festival kicked off on Saturday with a clear blue sky. Photo: Kirsten Hammermeister.
Despite high temperatures and windy conditions, the weekend’s Yours and Owls Festival and its new location at Wollongong’s Flagstaff Hill received a positive response.
The state’s first pill-testing trial was generally regarded as a success, while some residents as far away as Cordeaux Heights enjoyed hearing the performances on Saturday evening.
Illawarra act Satin Cali opened the festival on Saturday while Windang lads Hockey Dads, who had recently returned from a NZ tour, closed the festival on Sunday afternoon.
One Wollongong fan, Byron, 19 was attending his second Yours and Owls Festival and was surprised at the depth of the performers.
“I don’t know how Wollongong can get such a good line-up,” he said.
Eve, 25, and Lachlan, 28, drove 12 hours from Victoria to experience their first music festival.
They were both keen to see the Goo Goo Dolls, who headlined the Saturday night line-up.
For the first time in NSW, patrons could access a free pill-testing site at the festival to have drugs tested for potentially life-threatening or unknown substances.
Health officials hailed the pill-testing trial as a success.
Many of the thousands who attended the two-day festival were supportive of the NSW Government’s decision to hold the state’s first pill-testing site at the festival, although others were more wary.
Sara*, 25, from Wollongong told Region, “If they kept going with [the pill-testing], year after year, you would gain more people’s trust.”
Attendees were able to access the discreet pill-testing area after entering the gates of the festival, where police and sniffer dogs were stationed.
The initiative allowed festival goers to have their illicit drugs tested and have a conversation with a peer or NSW Health worker about the result.
Attendees were under no obligation to hand over their drugs but did have the option to dispose of them in an amnesty bin if they chose to.
However, some festival goers were hesitant to use the service, due to the police presence.
Speaking at the event on Saturday, Wollongong MP Paul Scully said NSW Health had worked with police to ensure that the pill-testing site was accessible.
When questioned on the presence of police and dogs at the festival, he said: “I acknowledge that is a challenge, and that is a part of the inherent contradictions to this policy.
“At the moment, police have the right to use those types of instruments, in this case sniffer dogs, to go about their operation – that’s a matter for them.
“I think most people, if they were given information from a peer worker or a member of NSW Health that the drug is not what they purchased and the drug contains a high level of toxicity in one particular area, then they would make an informed decision that says, ‘perhaps I’ll put that one in the bin’.
“I want to emphasise to young people, you will always get treated, always be able to access medical attention, and you will not be in trouble for accessing medical attention.”
Scarlett, 20, from Melbourne, said she and her friends were checked by a sniffer dog when entering the festival and said having the police presence near a pill-testing tent seemed “a bit counterproductive”.
Other attendees commented on the need for cooperation between harm reduction services and the police force and said they felt safer with police presence for higher risk situations like drug dealers and violence but felt concerned about testing their drugs.
Olivia*, 24, from Wollongong said she did not test her drugs because going to the tent “with so many cops hanging around” felt “almost like a setup”.
Courtney, 23, from Brisbane said: “I like the option if I want to feel extra safe, but I am way more afraid of getting arrested.”
However, Wollongong student Gabrielle said: “Even if you don’t agree with taking drugs, I think the key thing to remember is that harm reduction is not enabling drug use.”
The festival location proved to be a scenic addition to the live music experience, despite the heat on Saturday and complaints of little shade and the wind whipping up on Sunday.
On Monday, NSW Police reported they had charged 23 people with drug possession during the festival. A high-visibility operation was conducted on Flagstaff Hill and the South Beach foreshore on Saturday and Sunday.
Police said there was 51 drug detections, mainly with MDMA, and six patrons were ejected from the festival.
* Not their real name.
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