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Thursday, April 18, 2024
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What’s a ‘death doula’? Karen Hamilton on why she became one STORY: PAGE 12
Narromine cenotaph turns 100 on ANZAC Day By DAVID TAYLOR, PRESIDENT, NARROMINE RSL SUB-BRANCH ON Thursday, April 25, along with the whole of Australia and those living in many other countries, the people of Narromine will pause to remember those who gave their lives on this day in 1915 at Gallipoli. Indeed, Australia’s fallen servicemen from every conflict will be commemorated, as we remember those whose lives were dedicated to defending our country. ANZAC Day this year will be a special occasion for Narromine. It was on this day 100 years ago that the cenotaph in Dandaloo Street was unveiled. This memorial was erected to honour those who fell in World War I (then called The Great War). In their speeches, the State and Federal members said the design and appearance of the monument was much better than any other they had seen in the state. The cost then was £1,080, or around $2,160. In today’s terms, that figure would conceivably be well in excess of $300,000. The cenotaph itself has been subjected to turmoil. In February 1932, a cyclone tore through the town, severely damaging the memorial and destroying the Catholic church, among other structures. The monument repair was (out-of-pocket expenses only) less than $17. Try to imagine that today! Continued page 5
Lest We Forget: ANZAC Day events around the shire
Footy’s back: Castlereagh League Youth Knockout event
STORY: PAGE 5
STORY & PHOTOS: PAGE 20
Azadi Far Ride reaches Narromine By SHARON BONTHUYS ARRIVING in Narromine last week, an adventurous young woman and her two sturdy endurance horses officially hit the half-way mark in their epic 1,100-kilometre trek across NSW to reach the Murray River. Just three weeks after setting off from Goondiwindi to travel the stock routes south across the state to Tocumwal on the NSW/Victorian border, Shané Steffen and her Arab horses Glory and Melika reached Narromine and the half-way point in their journey known as the Azadi Far Ride to the Murray. The team is making good time on the trek, named after the Persian word for ‘freedom’, and should take six weeks to complete.
Shané Steffen leaves Narromine for the next destination on her epic trek. PHOTO: AZADI FAR RIDE.
“Slow” tourism assets THE agricultural scientist and sustainable farmer from Bullyard near Bundaberg, Queensland, is not riding for charity or to break any horseback travel records. She’s showing the world — and in particular, the NSW government — that the state’s stock routes and reserves, still widely used by drovers and farmers, are a sustainable “slow” tourism asset with heritage value that need to be protected. First exposed to the purpose
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and value of stock routes as a youngster near Texas, southeast Queensland, Ms Steffen gained a greater appreciation for them as she grew up and undertook rail trails and hiking. Helping preserve them for recreational purposes as well as agricultural purposes is very important, she believes. It’s this type of outsidethe-box thinking that helped propel the quietly spoken 27-year-old to be recognised as the 2023 Young Woman of the Year by the non-profit Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Network Inc last December.
Visit to Narromine and the CWA
HAVING passed through several central west communities on the 34-leg trip south, including Coolah, Leadville, Dunedoo, Elong Elong and Dubbo, Ms Steffen rode into Narromine on the afternoon of April 10 and set up camp at the back of the showgrounds. Her mother Birgit Steffen, acting as her support driver during the trek, also joined her in Narromine. That night, mum and daughter joined the Narromine Country Women’s Association (CWA) branch for their monthly meeting followed by dinner at the United Services Memorial Club. Continued page 9