The Bangalow Show will mark its 125th year on Friday, 13 November and Saturday, 14 November at the Bangalow Showgrounds. The event began in March 1897, when about 300 people attended the first day. Show Secretary Anne McClelland says volunteers keep the event running, with Monster Trucks as this year's main attraction. Traditional competitions, including the Stockman Ironman and Bush Poet contests, remain on the program. Council is taking over management of the Showgrounds.
Brendon and Emma Reynolds have put the historic Junee Hotel on the market so they can move closer to family. The couple took over the lease in 2023 and later bought the property, restoring its rooms, bathrooms and bar. They have added community events, including a singles night that Emma says led to five relationships. Emma criticised government taxes on regional pubs and staffing rules that limit backpacker workers. The couple plan to live in the hotel while a sale progresses, which they say can take six to 12 months.
Blacktown pilot Aglaya Papadokokolakis flew the first commercial aircraft out of Western Sydney International Airport on Sunday. She said the milestone was a career highlight, launching operations in her home region. Her father is also a pilot, and she encouraged young women to pursue aviation despite its male-dominated reputation. The airport opened after about eight years of construction and is set to run around the clock. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially opened it at a Sunday morning ceremony, and its first international flight arrived on Monday.
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As part of Small Business Month in October, three New England and North Coast businesses are being highlighted. Steve Shaw runs GH Innovations in Thrumster, helping local firms attract customers through online search and sales improvement. Di Wade runs Rawspice Boutique in South West Rocks, offering independent fashion and lifestyle products. Meagan Hudson and Rory Taylor run Beardy Downs in Emmaville, making small-batch tallow and beeswax products through BD Collection.
Drivers travelling between Armidale and the coast on Waterfall Way should allow extra time from Monday, 26 October, to Sunday, 8 November. Transport for NSW says a string of maintenance jobs and projects may cause cumulative delays, with some sections of up to 10 minutes. Vehicles wider than 3 metres face restrictions on parts of the route, and a permit is needed. Motorists can follow signs and directions from traffic controllers, or use alternative routes including the Oxley Highway, Gwydir Highway or New England Highway.
Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has taken up a part-time professor of practice role at the University of Sydney. She will guest-lecture, run masterclasses and mentor students and researchers in the school of public health. Her work will focus on empathetic leadership, social cohesion and civic trust. Ardern, who led New Zealand from 2017 to 2023, said she has been focused on leadership since leaving office. University vice-chancellor Mark Scott said her leadership showed that empathy and resolve can strengthen each other.
A 28-year-old man has been charged after an alleged fight on Banna Avenue in Griffith. Police allege he threw punches at another man in the middle of the street at about 2 am on Sunday, October 25, after being refused entry to pubs. Officers had earlier told him to leave, and police say he later swore at them and kept approaching despite being directed to leave. He was arrested, charged with behaving in an offensive manner in a public place, and granted bail. He is due to appear before Griffith Local Court on November 18.
Sydney will host the 2027 Super Netball Grand Final for the first time since the competition began. The event is expected to attract more than 8,000 visitors and inject more than $4 million into the NSW visitor economy. The match will be played on Saturday 31 July at Afterpay Arena, Sydney Olympic Park, and is proposed rather than confirmed. Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis said the event would celebrate the sport's passion across New South Wales. NSW Premier Chris Minns said the state would invest more in netball, one of its biggest participation sports.
New South Wales Police Minister Yasmin Catley has defended the state's gun buyback scheme after 150 applications were lodged in its first hours. Bookings opened on Monday, and the government plans to remove up to 274,000 firearms from the community. Catley said fewer guns in circulation would make the community safer, pointing to firearms stolen across the state. Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane has criticised the scheme, arguing it focuses too heavily on licensed owners rather than illegal guns used by organised criminals.
An 88-year-old woman has died in hospital after she was struck by a car in Pyree, in the NSW Shoalhaven region. Police were called to Pyree Lane at about 1:45 pm on Saturday, 24 October, after reports of a pedestrian being hit. Paramedics treated the woman at the scene before she was flown to St George Hospital in a critical condition. Police were told on Sunday, 25 October, that she had died. The 43-year-old driver returned a negative result on a roadside breath test and was taken to Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital for mandatory testing.
A whale calf carcass has washed ashore at Malabar Beach in Sydney, the third landing spot for the same animal. Randwick Council workers moved the remains up the sand, roped off the area and closed the beach on Tuesday. Council said strong currents moved the carcass from Lurline Bay and that it will be removed and disposed of on Tuesday 27 October. Earlier, Coogee and Maroubra beaches were shut after the carcass became stuck against rocks at Lurline Bay.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway Ramp has been officially named Patyegarang, after a Cammeraygal woman who helped bridge colonial and Indigenous communities. The name was chosen through a collaborative process with local Aboriginal community members. Transport for NSW has also unveiled new bronze signage and a cyclist counter board, which shows live usage statistics. The ramp's opening in January has led to a 30% increase in cycleway usage, averaging 1,600 daily riders over the past six months.
