Contributor, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

Sydney might be 236 years old, but Murrabit is catching up fast – having notched up its official first century at the weekend. And it was certainly one of the bigger parties the Murray River town has thrown in its first 100 years, pulling a bumper crowd of locals, former locals and the descendants of some of the town’s establishment names for the two days of festivities.

Andrew Mole. There is a certain can-do attitude when it comes to Koondrook and getting things done – and the town’s CFA volunteers are a prime example. On Sunday, the local brigade held a very casual, very enthusiastic and very well received open day to unofficially officially unveil its new annex.

Sophie Baldwin. Roger Reid thought he was doing the right thing when he made the decision to invest some big dollars into water efficiency projects on his mixed farming property in the Riverina. However, Roger has been left scratching his head and questioning his decision this season, after the Bullatale Creek was reduced to water holes and he couldn’t access water.

Peter Walsh MP. All roads led to Barmah at the weekend as hundreds of people scrambled for access to hundreds of tonnes of flood-damaged fallen trees rescued for use as firewood. Coming out of the Barmah Forest, the wood was originally pushed into 70 large piles and was going to be burnt by Parks Victoria staff.

Andrew Mole. The Rotary Club of Kerang’s annual spelling bee was back big time – and you could feel the buzz around this month’s 25/27th anniversary event. A hugely popular primary school showdown, pre-Covid-19, it was regularly pulling 90 or more contestants from years 4, 5 and 6 in schools across Gannawarra Shire.

Andrew Mole. Everything and everyone are raring to go for the 2024 Moama Bowling Club Gunbower Gold Cup on Saturday, October 5. When the horses jump for the $30,000 race, it will be the first time in five years it has been successfully run.

We had a great September meeting with good attendance. We enjoyed a lot of entries in competitions and a good trade table ... We finished our meeting with a kokedama (moss balls) workshop.

Andrew Mole. More than seven years of hard work is about to go live after the long-awaited Barham micro abattoir last week passed its audit for poultry processing with flying colours. The rubber stamp from the NSW Department of Primary Industries means the facility is licensed and ready to operate.

Sophie Baldwin. It is only 15 days until the curtain opens on the Golden Rivers Theatre Group’s spring production of The Emperor’s New Clothes. And it is going to be amazing according to performer and committee member Russ Allen.

Sophie Baldwin. The last time the Bullatale Creek ran dry was back in 2007 – at the peak of the millennium drought. And yet, in 2024 and after three consecutive wet years, the creek is dry. Again. Which begs the obvious question – where has all the water gone?