Its been another tremendous year in the Upper Lachlan Shire, with stories covering everything from rebates for farmers and drought relief, to the achievements of Australia's eldest 'paperboy' Kevin Naughton, car crashes, and the planned Wyangala Dam expansion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Significant milestones were reached including the Taralga 200 celebrations and the community of volunteers gave countless hours to help those less fortunate.
The local government completed significant projects including replacing ageing timber bridges with temporary causeways and bypasses and secured drought relief funding for roads and projects to boost the economy.
For now, here are your highlights the most-read stories on the Crookwell Gazette in 2019.
In August, the Crookwell Dogs win a home-town Rugby Union clash against the Taralga Tigers. The home side trailed 7-0 at half time, but a burst towards the try line from the Dogs number 18 Tom McGregor in the final play of the game put his side on top of the world.
In May, brewers at the Bake and Brew festival in Crookwell produced a stout with licorice extract, cascade hops, and half a dozen espresso shots. The keg lineup also included a cider brewed by Blair Flanagan, as well as a ginger beer, an old, and a pale ale. The event is a showcase of the brewer as it is the campfire and barbecue chef.
In August, digital mapping shows the impact of the Wyangala Dam extension on land in the Upper Lachlan Shire. The mapping is created using a digital elevation model from Geoscience and showed raising the wall would increase the area of inundation by 35 per cent to 7343 hectares. Property owner, Sean Proudman, says more than half of his freehold would disappear.
In January, drover Brian Glendinning is told 'time's up' by Local Land Services. Since October, 852 Angus cattle from Braidwood, made up of core breeders and weaner steers, grazed the long paddock in the Upper Lachlan Shire.
In April, reporter Clare McCabe met with Kevin Naughton, Crookwell's 'paperboy'. It is estimated he has delivered more than a million newspapers. Mr Naughton, 90, is not the world's oldest paperboy. That (UK) record is Ted Ingram's, who delivered until 93 years and 268 days. However, Mr Naughton could very well be Australia's eldest: "They all tell me I have to be. I was 90 on Christmas Day [2018]," he said.
In October, visitors - many spanning generations and with an array of history - travelled to Taralga to mark 200 years since the first European explorer discovered the area.
"It's 200-years that gets us to where we are now... We love this town, we love the people in it, it's such a special place... I really want to say thank you to the people who put this together," Upper Lachlan Shire Council mayor John Stafford said.
In January, farmers are offered rebates of up to $25,000 for new and upgraded farm water infrastructure by the federal government.
In March, contracts for Bangalore exchanged hands for a whopping $1.85 million. The homestead, circa 1912, was sold to a couple from the Armidale district.
In June, Trevor Picker is killed in a four-vehicle crash. He was one of five people involved in a series of accidents in the same area at Junction Point Road, near Binda. The loss of Mr Picker deeply affects the entire community.
In April, one person died following a collision on the Hume Highway near Gunning. On scene, reporter Hannah Sparks learned that a northbound prime mover crashed into a B-double, which was broken down in lane one. The impact caused the prime mover to catch alight. The driver died at the scene.
Police later identified the driver as Desmond Stephen May of Wodonga. He was remembered by family members by his sister Cheryl Drennan-Watson and her husband, Andrew Watson.