Gunnedah brothers Chase and Bobby Berry both had strong results at the PBR Australia Can-Am Junior Academy Grand Finals in Tamworth. Chase won the 2026 Australian Junior Championship, completing back-to-back titles, and aims for a third next year. Bobby won the Pee Wee event in Tamworth but finished as Australian Pee Wee Runner-Up. In the Senior division, Chase Wieland of Gympie won the Tamworth event and the Australian Senior Championship. Kelsey Pavlou won the Open division's Iron Cowboy Invitational by 0.10 of a point.
Telstra maintenance in Tamworth's central business district will temporarily reduce mobile coverage, starting on Monday, 26 October, and lasting two days. The mobile site serving the area will be switched off for short periods, which could disrupt calls, mobile data, mobile EFTPOS terminals and medical or personal safety devices. Businesses can check with their bank or payment provider about processing payments through the NBN or Wi-Fi. Telstra customers with Wi-Fi can enable Wi-Fi Calling. Emergency calls to Triple Zero (000) may still connect through another mobile network. NBN, satellite, landline and other providers' mobile services will not be affected.
Entries are now open for the 2027 Country Music Parade in Tamworth, which has been given the theme Country Music Icons. Artists, businesses, community groups and performers are invited to take part in the parade, which falls on Saturday, 23 January. Organisers describe it as a chance to show creativity to thousands of fans and as the largest street parade of the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Entries are lodged through the council's online form.
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Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson says the push to turn the former Banksia Mental Health Unit into a drug and alcohol detoxification and recovery centre is still alive. The government has responded to a petition from 2,462 local advocates calling for the facility to be kept and refurbished. The government says the building's future use has not yet been determined and that the site can be assessed once it is vacant. Anderson wants a partnership in which government funds upgrades and a non-government organisation runs the facility.
Gunnedah's Chase Berry leads the junior division ahead of the 2026 PBR Australia Can-Am Junior Academy Grand Finals in Tamworth on Saturday, 24 October. Riders from several states and New Zealand are competing for $29,000 in total prizemoney, which organisers describe as the richest junior bull riding finals in the country. Entry is free and action starts at 12pm at the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre. Berry has 95.5 points, ahead of Barraba's Noah Lowe on 51. The season ends with the PBR Australia Grand Finals in Townsville on 13 and 14 November.
Tamworth marketing agency c7even has launched The Voice of Region, a national survey of people living and working outside Australia's capital cities. The survey asks about confidence in regional communities, the biggest challenges people face, how they make decisions and where they get news. Managing Partner Adam Arndell said regional audiences should not be treated as one group. The findings will feed into c7even's audience intelligence system, and the survey will be repeated annually to track changes. The survey takes under 10 minutes, and participants can enter a draw to win one of five $100 fuel cards.
Tamworth patients can now have prostate and neuroendocrine imaging close to home, following an upgrade to the city's PET scanner. The scanner was installed in 2024, and more than 1,000 patients have used it. Before it arrived, patients in the district travelled to Newcastle for scans. Local member Kevin Anderson said the community had campaigned for the upgrade. He said prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, and that local access means fewer men need to travel for treatment.
Members of the Tamworth Branch of the Australian Labor Party received service awards for periods of 10 to 30 years of membership at the branch's October meeting. Senior vice-president Kate McGrath presented the certificates to 20 attending members. Long-serving members said their involvement was driven by beliefs in fairness, strong public services and giving working people a voice. Ms McGrath encouraged new members to join the branch and attend a meeting.
The NSW Government has approved the rezoning of 15.5 hectares of vacant government-owned land in East Tamworth, paving the way for more than 200 new homes. At least 70 will be social and affordable housing, with about two-thirds privately owned. The site sits 1.5 kilometres from the Tamworth CBD, and more than 600 households are on the local social housing waiting list. Homes NSW will fund infrastructure upgrades alongside Tamworth Regional Council. Construction timelines have not yet been announced.
Tamworth's CBD drew more than 2000 people on the first night of the inaugural City of Lights Festival. Festival project lead Dimity Smith said attendance exceeded expectations, with long queues at Centrepoint and the Glow Zone. The event marked the town's history as one of the first in the Southern Hemisphere to switch on electric street lighting in 1888. A highlight was the Laser Garden in Bicentennial Park, with installations by Sydney studio Mandylights. Events were free, and the festival was funded through the NSW Government's Regional Night-Time Economy Program.
Swimming pools across the Tamworth region will reopen for the 2026-27 summer season after a series of upgrades. Tamworth Olympic Swimming Pool opens on Monday, 12 October, with Barraba, Kootingal, Manilla and Nundle memorial pools following on Tuesday, 13 October. South and West Tamworth Memorial Pool reopens on Saturday, 17 October, on limited hours that will expand as demand grows. Tamworth Regional Council completed inspections, repairs and upgrades over winter. Council Aquatics Coordinator Gary Johnson said many public pools are between 50 and 80 years old, so ongoing maintenance is essential.
A Tamworth father says his five-year-old son suffered a spiral fracture to his left femur after a fall at Little Kindy Childcare Centre. According to an incident report, staff did not contact medical personnel or report the incident to authorities. The NSW Early Learning Commission closed the centre for six months, citing ongoing non-compliance and child safety risks. Commissioner Darryl Currie said the centre had unclean and hazardous areas, and that there was an immediate risk to children. Little Kindy operates three centres in Tamworth and has been contacted for comment.
