A wonderful new place to buy things
December 12, 2024 in Community and Business

There's a brand new store in the rectory at St Thomas' Anglican Church in O'Connell and it's full of things that you will fall in love with even though you didn't know you needed them until you saw them.
See more about the store here

New committee at OBTA
November 21, 2024 in Business

The Oberon Business and Tourism Association has a new committee to take the organisation forward for the next year. Members are:

• President  Tatiana Coulter
• Vice President  Diana Crabb
• Secretary Chris Dutton
• Treasurer  Sarah Faulds
• Committee Members
  • Kelly Robinson
  • Warwick Mawhood
  • Pat Bird

Congratulations to the new committee.

A bit of bad news
November 14, 2024 in Business
Updated December 5, 2024

The operators of The Hub pizza bar have announced a temporary closure of the shop until further notice. As this follows the closure of Brazen Burgers in the same location it looks very likely that Oberon has lost another business. Oberon Matters will be following this story with a little bit of optimism (but not too much).
It looks like that optimism was unfounded. Click to see why.

Digital Marketing Seminar
October 31, 2024 in Business

On Tuesday, October 22, there was a presentation at the Oberon Community Centre about the use of social media for marketing and representing businesses. Presenters were Josh Gordon from RDA Central West and Nalinda Ranaweera from Business HQ.
See a bit more about this here

Our Town, Our Future Business Forum judged a success
October 31, 2024 in Business

About twenty people came along to hear some of Oberon's major business owners talk about Our Town, Our Future, which was the business forum hosted by the Oberon Business and Tourism Association, held on October 24. There were five guest speakers.
Read the rest of the story here

Congratulations Number 1
October 24, 2024 in Community and Business

Congratulations to Mawhood's IGA for the announcement that they have been awarded a Community Recognition Statement by Member for Bathurst Paul Toole for "the outstanding community and business contributions Mawhood's IGA have made to the people of Oberon."
See the full certificate here

Brazen Burgers closes the shop
October 17, 2024 in Business

In a piece of very bad news, Brazen Burgers will close on October 20, 2024. The reasons are several but had nothing to do with the quality of the food or service. Sometimes family matters and logistics take precedence over the rest of life.

Oberon Matters wishes Carson and Marlon all the best for the future.

The closure of the cafe will not affect The Hub pizza bar, which will continue to operate from the same premises.

Oberon Pharmacy among the best
October 10, 2024 in Business

Massive congratulations have to everyone at Oberon Pharmacy for being declared a finalist in the 2024 Pharmacy of the Year competition. Everyone in town already knows how good they are and now that excellence has been recognised.

Now on to the finals.

2024 Oberon Business Awards
September 12, 2024 in Business and Community

Oberon's "Night of Nights" happened on Friday, September 6, when the town assembled at the Oberon RSL for the 2024 Oberon Business Awards, presented by the Oberon Business and Tourist Association (OBTA). Everyone is hoping that the Awards can become an annual event to celebrate Oberon's commercial life.
See the winners and some photos here

Let's acknowledge the sponsors
August 29, 2024 in Community and Business

Oberon is noted for its generosity, and one way that this is shown is by the level of support for things happening around the area. The Oberon Business and Tourism Association Inc is very grateful to the businesses of Oberon which generously sponsored the 2024 Oberon Business Awards.
Click for a larger view of the image

It was rather ironic that two of the sponsors, NAB and Oberon Review, had abandoned Oberon and ceased doing business there before the gala presentation night when the winners were announced.

Oberon Business Awards
August 22, 2024 in Community and Business

The finalists for the 2024 Oberon Business Awards have been announced. Congratulations to everyone on the list. The awards will be announced at a gala dinner on September 6.
See the finalists here

2024 Community Expo
August 15, 2024 in Business and Community

On Thursday, August 15, the Oberon community got together in the Community Centre for a Community Expo, where local organisations and businesses could tell the public about what they do and why they do it. The annual 356 grants from Oberon Council were presented on the night.
See the photos here

What's happening at (to?) the Oberon RSL Club?
August 8, 2024 in Community and Business

It's hardly a secret around town that there are problems at the RSL Club. Changes to opening hours, restricted nights for the bistro, some regular activities cancelled, ... At a meeting on August 7, the extent of the Club's financial problems were revealed and some options to save the club were brought forward. The news was not good.
See the rest of the story here

A big win for a local business
August 8, 2024 in Business

Massive congratulations have to go to the team at Highlands Motor Inn for being declared the 2024 Motel of the Year in NSW. That was a lot of competition to beat.
See more about this here

Be part of a successful experiment
July 11, 2024 in Business
Updated October 17, 2024

Hiding on the corner of Raleigh and Oberon Streets you can find Corner Pocket Experiment. It's a sort of plant nursery, a sort of refuge from the busyness of life, a sort of place to relax and a sort of place to get good advice about what grows best in Oberon's climate.
See more about this here

The business awards are back
July 4, 2024 in Business

The Oberon Business and Tourism Association (OBTA) have announced that the Business Awards are back for 2024. All businesses are eligible to enter the awards, not just members of the Oberon Business and Tourism Association.
See the categories and submit your nominations here

There's a top motel in town
June 27, 2024 in Business
Updated August 8, 2024

Diana and Ian Crabb took over as managers of the Highlands Motor Inn in April 2023. After two days in Oberon they were faced with the Easter crowd. Their skills as motel managers have been recognised just over a year after taking over and the motel is a finalist in the 2024 NSW Accommodation Awards for Excellence.
Join in the congratulations here

The new servo is finally here
June 20, 2024 in Business

After a long period behind fences and "Keep Out" signs after the closure of the Enhance petrol outlet and what seemed like an eternity of reconstruction, the new Ultra service station on the corner of Oberon and Raleigh Streets is finally open for business.
See some more about this here

Oberon's new childcare centre is on its way
June 20, 2024 in Community and Business

The scarcity of childcare facilities in Oberon has been a topic of conversation for some time but help is on its way. A new purpose-built childcare centre is currently being constructed in Tasman Street across the road from Oberon Public School.
See more about this here

A new place to eat in town
June 20, 2024 in Business

After too many years sitting empty, the restaurant at 131 Oberon Street (on the corner of Ross Street) has reopened, this time with a Turkish theme.
See some more about this here

Awards Finalists
May 9, 2024 in Business

Two Oberon businesses are finalists in the 2024 Western NSW Business Awards. We wish them luck.
See the details here

The burgers are better at Brazen Burgers
May 2, 2024 in Business
Updated October 17, 2024

A change of name, a change of direction, a change of menu. Brazen Burgers brings gourmet burgers to Oberon. And you can buy them for a lot more hours each day.
See the story here

Goodbye NAB. It was almost nice knowing you
April 25, 2024 in Community and Business

The Oberon branch of NAB has finally closed. This happened 15 days after the new CEO of the bank assured customers that "We also want to help our communities prosper." Unfortunately, it looks like the community of Oberon will have to prosper without them.
See the story here

Letter - The state of Oberon's water
April 11, 2024 in Letters, Community and Business

The quality of the water in some parts of Oberon has been a problem for some time, and has now caused the closure of at least one business (the Laundry Pad). Proprietor Vicki Walsh explained her frustration and disappointment, with a plea to the community for action and support.
See Vicki's letter and some history here.

Coffee cups come back to O'Connell
March 21, 2024 in Community and Business

The coffee shop at O'Connell is back in business. It's now run by Sarah, Paula and Emily Coad. Sarah's "Get Roasted" van is well known at events round the area and now the business has a permanent home. Anybody who travels by road knows how welcome roadside cafes are, especially if they aren't just outposts of the normal fast food chains. They provide a little bit of local colour that the photocopied chain "restaurants" can't provide. And the coffee is better, too (Get Roasted serve coffee sourced from local supplier Fish River Roasters).
See the full article here.