Narromine Star

30/10/2025

The Narromine Star, which closed in August 2025, received two major awards of excellence at the Country Press NSW Awards on Friday, October 24. The event was held at Yarrawonga, jointly with the Victorian Country Press Association.

Our newspaper received the award for Best Paid Newspaper (under 700 circulation), while Narromine Star journalist Sophia McCaughan was recognised as Young Journalist of the Year.

These awards - judged independently by interstate judges from within the newspaper industry - are a testament to the hard work of the Narromine Star team and our commitment to reporting local news.

The judges commented on the ability of the Narromine Star to consistently produce quality and relevant local content, and praised Sophia’s versatility from court reporting to investigative issues to sport reporting.

Our team - Sharon Bonthuys, Sophia McCaughan, David Dixon, Kayla Fowler, Zoe Rendall, Lucie Peart and Tim Pankhurst - remain proud of the work we undertook for the paper, and would like to thank all those in the community who supported us, advertised with us, and shared their stories with us.

Our managing editor, Lucie Peart, stepped down as president of CPNSW after eight years in the role, replaced by Edward Higgins from the Cowra Guardian. Lucie was recognised with Life Membership of the CPNSW.

Full details of the awards are in this week’s Dubbo Photo News.

We hope to have an update on the Narromine Star online site soon.

Photos: VCPA.

16/09/2025

We did it again! Shortlisted for a few awards this year!

Finalists for next month’s combined Country Press NSW and Victorian Country Press Association awards night have been revealed, with a diverse field of publications named among the final contenders for the Friday, October 24 gala event..

This year’s Country Press NSW Awards attracted a record 227 entries from publishers for the 19 categories on offer.

CPNSW Awards of Excellence Shortlist 2025
Best Agricultural Photo
Christine Little - Parkes Champion Post
Mark Griggs - Wellington & District Leader
Jess Richards - Coonabarabran Times
Daniel Ryan - Cowra Guardian

Best News Photo
Megan Dunn - Corowa Free Press
Renee Powell - Forbes Advocate
Em Jensen - Broken Hill Times
Christine Little - Parkes Champion Post

Best Sports Photo
Josh Gidney - Tumut and Adelong Times Renee Powell - Forbes Advocate
Liam Hauser - Gunnedah Times

Best Commercial Feature
The Courier - 2024 Narrabri Chamber of Commerce Business Awards
Coonabarabran Times - Tuck in
Monaro Post - 75 years of the Snowy Scheme

Best Locally Produced Print Advertisement
Canowindra News
Gunnedah Times
The Courier

Best Locally Produced Advertising Campaign
Forbes Advocate - Vandenberg Hotel
Narromine Star - Where Is It?
Cowra Guardian - Tax Time

Best Magazine or Special Publication
Coonabarabran Times - wattle 4.0
Corowa Free Press - Good Times on the Murray and the Mountains
Deniliquin Pastoral Times - Deniliquin Pastoral Times 165th Anniversary Souvenir Edition

Best Editorial Campaign
To be announced at Yarrawonga.

Best News Story
Emma Prior - Corowa Free Press
Josh Gidney - Tumut and Adelong Times Krista Schade - The Riverine Grazier

Best Digital Presence
To be announced at Yarrawonga

Best Sports Story
Jared Loughnan - Corowa Free Press
Renee Powell - Forbes Advocate
Lleyton Hughes - The Bugle Newspaper

Best Agricultural Story
Daniel Ryan - Cowra Guardian
Em Jensen - Broken Hill Times
Mark Griggs - Wellington & District Leader

Best Opinion/Editorial
Kait Britton - Coonabarabran Times
Liam Hauser - Gunnedah Times
Christine Little - Parkes Champion Post

Young Journalist of the Year
Lleyton Hughes - The Bugle Newspaper
Sophia McCaughan - Narromine Star
Madeline Blackstock - Parkes Champion Post

Journalist of the Year
Tertia Butcher - The Riverine Grazier
Christine McKee - Corowa Free Press
Krista Schade - The Riverine Grazier
Em Jensen - Broken Hill Times

Overall Newspaper Excellence FREE
Hunter River Times
Byron Coast Times
Dubbo Photo News

Overall Newspaper Excellence PAID Under 700 Circulation
Narromine Star
Gundagai Independent
Tumbarumba Times

Overall Newspaper Excellence PAID Over 700 Circulation
Broken Hill Times
The Courier
Deniliquin Pastoral Times

27/08/2025

This is it - our very last print issue of Narromine Star. It's 24 pages and jam-packed with community stories, sporting updates and news.

TTT has pride of place on the front page in our final edition, while our back page is devoted to rising MX star Stella Harding - who's off to represent Australia soon in her sport.

We have fundraising stories about Central West Riders, Narromine Red Cross, and the epic run by a Huxley's Hero from Broken Hill to the coast which will pass through the shire next week.

Sick of roadworks on the Mitchell Highway between Dubbo and Narromine? There's more to come so we asked some tough questions to Transport for NSW about what's happening and importantly, when will it all end?

There's Book Week action, Council news, Dolly Festival update, and our sport section provides all the action of footy finals, golf, racing, soccer, shooting, and netball.

If you read to the end, you'll also see our farewell tribute and photos of past front covers across the years.

It's full. It's jam-packed. It's our last hurrah in print - but we hope you'll follow us online when our news website goes live. Details to come.

Thank you from all of us at the Narromine Star.

20/08/2025

It's Thursday, and that's "Paper Day" here at the Narromine Star.

Grab your copy from local outlets or purchase a digital copy from www.narrominestar.com.au .

There's an announcement on page 3 that you should read.

Thank you for supporting local news.

** We welcome your comments, but will remove any that are deemed inappropriate or potentially defamatory. Please post comments responsibly. **

13/08/2025

It's Thursday, and that's "Paper Day" here at the Narromine Star.

Grab your copy from local outlets or purchase a digital copy from www.narrominestar.com.au .

Thank you for supporting local news.

** We welcome your comments, but will remove any that are deemed inappropriate or potentially defamatory. Please post comments responsibly. **

07/08/2025

Support the Narromine Star – Your Local Voice, Your Local Story
From Managing Editor, Lucie Peart
In 2021, the Narromine Star was established to fill a vital gap, bringing back trusted, independent local news after the region had gone without for too long.
Created by local publishers with a passion for regional journalism, the paper was built on the belief that a town like Narromine deserves to have its stories told, its milestones celebrated, and its voice heard.
In just a few short years, that belief has been validated. In 2024, the Narromine Star was named Best Small Newspaper by Country Press NSW - an honour that recognised not just our journalism, but the strength of our community, and the value of a paper that is deeply connected to the place it serves.
But awards don’t pay the bills and like many small, independent publications, we’re facing mounting financial challenges. The cost of printing, distribution, and production continues to rise, while advertising dollars are increasingly funnelled to global digital platforms. Small businesses across the country are doing it tough, and local newspapers are no exception.
We’ve worked hard to champion the Narromine district - telling the stories of its people, covering local government decisions, celebrating community events, and supporting local organisations, schools and businesses. We’ve turned up, taken photos, and told stories with care and pride. Our team lives locally and works tirelessly to produce a paper that reflects the heart of this region.
We want to keep doing that but we can’t do it without your help. Despite our passion and commitment, the reality is this: without greater support from local advertisers and the wider community, we simply won’t be able to keep going.
If local newspapers are to survive, they need the backing of the communities they serve. That means businesses choosing to advertise locally. It means readers choosing to subscribe, buy a paper, or share our stories. Every ad placed, every copy sold, helps keep the Narromine Star in print and in your hands.
Losing a local paper means losing more than just news - it means losing a trusted source of information, a shared community voice, and a record of local life. It’s a loss felt for generations.
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together so far. Let’s keep it going.
Support your local paper. Support the Narromine Star.

06/08/2025

It's Thursday, and that's "Paper Day" here at the Narromine Star.

Grab your copy from local outlets or purchase a digital copy from www.narrominestar.com.au .

If you've got some news to share, a letter to the editor, an ad to place, or would like us to cover an upcoming event, please get in touch.

Thank you for supporting local news.

** We welcome your comments, but will remove any that are deemed inappropriate or potentially defamatory. Please post comments responsibly. *

09/07/2025

It's Thursday, which means the Narromine Star is OUT NOW!!

Here is our front-page this week, and it is another jam-packed paper filled with all the latest from the Narromine Shire and beyond.

If you can’t pick up a copy in person, visit https://www.narrominestar.com.au/ to purchase a digital copy!

If you have a letter to the editor, some news to share, an advertisement to place or would like us to cover an upcoming event, please email [email protected]

Thank you for supporting your local community paper.

08/07/2025

The Narromine Star is happy (but sad) to announce that our reporter Sophia McCaughan will be resigning from the paper as of Friday, July 11.

Sophia has accepted a six-month backfill reporter position with the ABC at Port Macquarie where she will be reporting for their Mid-North Coast bureau.

We are inviting the community to farewell Sophia in a morning tea at Platform 11 in Narromine from 10.30AM on Thursday, July 10.

Sophia has been reporting for the Narromine Star since October last year and she will be sharing her final thoughts in the paper set to be published this week.

Feel free to let us know if you can make it or just show up!