The biggest "Thank You"
December 19, 2024 in General News

The first year for Oberon Matters is over, and it has been a success thanks to the site visitors who keep coming back. Readership has been growing and we even sold some advertising. The only disappointment was that plans for a print edition had to be put on hold because a competitor with lower costs (and an inferior product) moved into the "local news" space with something which doesn't even approach the concept of an Oberon local paper. This might be disappointing, but that doesn't mean that Oberon Matters won't be back in 2025, reporting on the news that matters to the local residents. Like the slogan says - "Local news for local people"

A great big "Thank You" to the visitors who supported the site through its first year. Without readers it would not be worth doing. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and we'll be back in 2025, bigger and better than ever.

See more about this here

Moron Alert!
December 12, 2024 in General News

You might have noticed tyre marks on some of the roads around town where people who think they can drive leave behind clear evidence that their driving skills are on par with toddlers in kiddie cars.
See some comments about this here

Jenolan Caves Road closures
October 31, 2024 in General News

Jenolan Caves Road at Hampton will be closed during the days between November 11 and 15.
You can see the details here

Local papers are central to our democracy. We must do more to bring them out of crisis
September 19, 2024 in General News

An article from The Conversation about the decline in local newspapers. Oberon isn't the only place to lose its paper - it's happening everywhere.
See the article here

Scams Awareness Week
August 29, 2024 in General News

It's Scams Awareness Week from August 26 to 30, but you need to be aware of the problem for the other 51 weeks of the year as well.
Go here to see the Australian Government's Scamwatch site
See also: Beware the scams. The price of safety is eternal vigilance.

Positive progress on the printing project
August 8, 2024 in General News
Updated December 19, 2024

The move to a print edition of Oberon Matters took a step forward in the first week of August. A flier was distributed to businesses around Oberon putting the case for support for a printed publication to fill the hole left by the disappearance of the Oberon Review.
You can see the flier here

See an update here

Change is on its way
July 25, 2024 in General News
Updated on December 19, 2024

At the end of August the Oberon Review will cease producing a printed version, with only a digital version available to paid subscribers from then onward. This will leave Oberon with no printed paper concentrating on things happening in the area. It was always the intention to eventually produce a free printed version of Oberon Matters, but the news above has changed the timetable and made the move to print more urgent.
See the full article here

Another winter driving hazard to worry about
July 18, 2024 in General News

Black ice isn't the only danger when driving in cold weather, however. There is another phenomenon called "freezing fog" that can be just as dangerous. This is when fog can cause a layer of ice to suddenly form on the windscreen.
See some more about this here

A moment of science, please
July 4, 2024 in General News

There's a new organisation in town, and its objective is to raise the profile and awareness of science. It's Oberon Citizen Science Network, and if you have any interest in science at all you need to have a look at what they are doing.
See more about this here

Possible reprieve for the Calare electorate
June 20, 2024 in General News

The Australian Electoral Commission conducts a periodical review of all the federal electorates in Australia to ensure that they meet the legislated criteria for population. For some time there has been speculation that the Calare electorate which includes Oberon could be drastically changed, and even go completely.
See more about this here

Will your mobile phone work after July 1?
April 11, 2024 in General News and Community
Updated May 6, 2024

Telstra will be closing the 3G mobile phone network on June 30, 2024. This is being done to free up bandwidth to allow better 4G and 5G services. TPG/Vodafone made the switch at the end of 2023, and Optus will be doing it in September this year.

If you have an old 3G-only phone you won't have any option except to replace it. The change will also affect some things other than phones which rely on the 3G network, such as some EFTPOS terminals, back-to-base security systems, some agricultural equipment and some medical monitoring systems. If you use one of these you will need to contact your supplier (if they haven't contacted you yet) to see what needs to be done.
Read the full story here

A great big thank you!
March 28, 2024 in Community and General News

I want to say a great big "Thank You" for the support that this site has been getting since it was launched on February 1 this year. The number of visitors keeps going up, although it will take some time before a regular pattern of visits matches the schedule of updates. But it will come.

This site has an associated Facebook page that is also gathering likers and followers at an encouraging rate.

So once again, thank you for coming here, reading the local news and making it worthwhile to keep the site going.
Read the full article here

Beware the scams. The price of safety is eternal vigilance.
February 29, 2024 in General News

Scams and conmen have probably existed since the  invention of writing. At one time the major export industry for Nigeria was sending out letters saying that some billionaire wanted to give some money away, and all you had to do was send a few dollars to start the process. In 2000 a spokesperson for the US Postal Service told me that as the letters used fake stamps there was no need to deliver them and the USPO was pulping about a tonne of the letters every month.
See the full article here.

Housekeeping
February 8, 2024

This web site is a work in progress and things will change from time to time. Some of these things will be invisible to site visitors but help with the management of the site.

One visible change this week is the introduction of archive pages for various categories of articles. Pages are created when there are two or more relevant articles, so more will be added as time goes by. Another related change is that a link to the archive index is now in the menu at the top of each page.

One of the background things is a database which keeps the What's On page up to date with events happening over the next few weeks, generates the article counts used on the archive pages and creates a file that tells the major search engines about any new or changed pages so they don't have to crawl the whole site. Eventually the database will maintain the archive pages but that's a low priority until the site has more content.

Also, the Advertising page has been updated with the rates for displaying advertisements. We have to make a living somehow.

Did you go to the markets?
February 8, 2024 in Community and General News

One of the nice things about living outside the big cities is the availability of Farmers' Markets. The regular markets closest to Oberon are at the Oberon Showground on the first Saturday of each month (except January) and at the Tarana Fire Shed on the fourth Sunday (except December). At both you can see and buy a range of locally produced goods, have something to eat, meet your neighbours and generally have a good time.
Read the full story here

Introduction to the Oberon Matters web site
February 1, 2024 in General News

The word "matters" can be a noun or a verb. Used as a noun, "Oberon Matters" means things going on in and around the town of Oberon, and this site is here to report on those things and events and also matters affecting the town and the surrounding area. Used as a verb, "Oberon Matters" means that what goes on is important to the people who live here.

The site encourages resident participation. It's your town. We want you to tell us what you want us to say, so we welcome stories about coming and past events, and we want to hear about what is important to you...
Read the full story here