Residents who have made large contributions to the shire were honoured on Sunday at official events in Narrabri, Wee Waa and Boggabri as part of Australia Day celebrations.
The Lions Club of Narrabri cooked the traditional breakfast barbecue at the Narrabri Aquatic Centre at 7am, before a crowd of around 400 gathered to listen to mayor Conrad Bolton announce the winners of the Australia Day awards.
Col Gillham was named Narrabri Shire Citizen of the Year.
The shire’s Australia Day Ambassador, Emma Rossi, whose family had a property in the Pilliga scrub when she grew up, spoke of her fondness of the region.
Wee Waa’s event began at 11am at the Namoi Echo Museum while Boggabri residents celebrated at their pool from 9am.
A 400-strong crowd was in attendance at the Narrabri Aquatic Centre on Sunday morning for the official Narrabri ceremony to mark Australia Day.
Several members of Narrabri Shire were recognised for the large contribution they have made in the community.
The morning celebrations began at 7am with a breakfast barbecue, cooked by the Lions Club of Narrabri.
A Welcome to Country was conducted by Narrabri Shire councillor Les Knox, a flag raising ceremony was carried out by members of the 1st Narrabri West Scout Group and the national anthem was performed by Gillian Goddard and the Narrabri Shire Band.
It was a special day for the Austria family, who became Australian citizens.
Their story will be published in The Courier on Thursday.
An address was given by Narrabri Shire’s Australia Day Ambassador, Emma Rossi, who spoke of her fondness for the region which holds a special place in her heart.
“My family had a property in the Pilliga scrub, this country is in my blood and I adore it,” she said.
“This is the country where I took my first steps, rode my first bike and had my first kiss, luckily many years apart!”
Ms Rossi spoke about the sense of community in regional areas.
The former television journalist said that spirit is evident during natural disasters.
“Narrabri Shire is not immune to fires, when I was covering fires the true spirit of Australia becomes evident,” she said.
“Neighbours look out for each other, community groups [such as] the Country Women’s Association, Rotary, help out with meals.”
Now living in Sydney, she said the city is thankful for all the contributions made by farmers in the bush.
“I feel grateful for agriculture, we really do recognise and honour in the city what farmers do in regional and remote areas, and the cotton that we wear,” she said.
“This part of Australia is really home for me, they say that gratitude is close to grace, I feel blessed to be in Australia and I thank you for having me in Narrabri.”
Ms Rossi helped the mayor, Cr Conrad Bolton, present Australia Day awards.
Citizen of the Year was awarded to Col Gillham. Further details are published on the opposite page.
Helen Hobday and Marion Tame were the joint winners of the Australia Day Award.
Young Citizen of the Year in the primary category was awarded to the Under 12 cricket team from Narrabri West Publish School.
The secondary category was awarded to Timothy Rex and the under 26 years of age category went to Charmaine Gillham.
Community Event of the Year was awarded to the Wee Waa Show Society for the Daft Punk album launch.
“The Show Society encouraged community participation and put on an amazing show without losing the essence of what an agricultural show really is,” said Cr Bolton.
The MC, Cr Ken Flower, said the contributions from the award winners is what makes a wonderful shire.