Articles published in September 2025

A new name in town
Sptember 4, 2025 in Business

Well, it's sort of new because the name was in Oberon some years ago, but Bedwells Feed Barn and Saddlery are back from September 1 as the new owners of what has been Oberon Industrial and Farming Supplies for the last few years.
See some more about this here

Firies climb for MND
September 4, 2025 in Community

On August 29, members of Oberon RFS spent the afternoon climbing and descending the 1.1 kilometre Furber Steps near Katoomba to raise money for research into Motor Neurone Disease. And raise money they did. $9181 of it.
See some photos from the climb here

A tour around Oberon
September 4, 2025 in Community

Here's a video tour of Oberon and its attractions made for the Visit Oberon people. It was made to attract tourists but it's a useful reminder of why we love living here.
See the video here (2:05)

Moron alert
September 4, 2025 in General News

They're out again. The brainless idiots who think that everyone else's property is theirs to steal or damage. This time it's stealing plants.
See some more of this outrage here

The time to stop learning is "never"
September 4, 2025 in Schools

And that applies to the schools around Oberon, where learning is both a continuous and a continual process.
See this week's school report card here

There's sport and then there's SPORT
September 4, 2025 in Sport

The really big news is that the Oberon Tigers are the 2025 Woodbridge Cup Premiers, with a 34-8 demolition of the Molong Rhinos. There was other sport too, except for golf on Saturday which came up against a bit of force majeure.
See the results here

Oberon's night of nights
September 11, 2025 in Business

The town turned out on Friday, September 5, for the annual Oberon Business Awards organised by the Oberon Business and Tourist Association (OBTA).
See the pictures and the winners here

That little tin church
September 11, 2025 in Community

Have you ever wondered about that cream painted tin church at Black Springs? Wonder no more.
See the story of the church here

Book reviews - Two books for kids about science
September 11, 2025 in Reviews

The best way to avoid having adults who don't know how the world works is to start by teaching kids about science before they grow up. These two books are a very good start.
See the reviews here

New report reveals glaring gaps between Australia's future needs and science capabilities
September 11, 2025 in General News

Australia used to be a world leader in many areas of science, but we have been slipping. Whatever the reasons for this, it is very worrying. This article from The Conversation looks at the problem and the challenges.
Read the story here

Cars and coffee. It's all about cars. And Coffee.
September 11, 2025 in Community

The first Sunday of each month sees a collection of cars parked in Oberon Street while the owners grab a coffee at Peters Cafe. Sunday, September 8, dawned with bright sunshine, so Oberon Matters got up early and pointed the camera at things.
Look at the photos here

You learn something every day. Well, you should.
September 11, 2025 in SChools

As usual, there was a lot going on at Oberon's schools over the last few days. Dancing, a bit of science, some cooking and some acting. And some new lambs to go "Aaawww!" over.
The school report starts here

If sport's your thing
September 11, 2025 in Sport

Another big win for the Tigers, but this time for the Juniors. Grand Final Winners! And the soccer ladies are through to Round 2 of the Finals.
All the sport that's fit to print here

More marvellous music at the Malachi
September 18, 2025 in Entertainment

The audience at the Malachi Gilmore Hall on Saturday, September 13, were treated to a real treat - a return performance by saxophonist Nick Russoniello performing a show built around his composition "Air Mass".
See and hear about it here

A fitting memorial
September 18, 2025 in Community and People

The township of Burraga got together on Saturday, September 13, to remember Bill Klower with the unveiling of a memorial plaque.
See some pictures here

Interesting things are indeed interesting
September 18, 2025 in Community

The exhibition "Interesting Things" at the Malachi Gilmore Hall over the weekend of September 13 and 14 lived up to its name. The idea was to collect objects from around Oberon ...
See the pictures and story here

It's the Pistol Club's birthday
September 18, 2025 in Community and Sport

Hidden away out on Old Shooters Hill Road you can find the Oberon Pistol Club which has celebrated its 40th anniversary. Some of the original members managed to get there on the day.
See some more here

What did you learn in school today?
September 18, 2025 in Schools

A reasonable question, but if addressed to a student at one of the schools around Oberon you might just get a very long answer which can be summarised as "A lot".
Stories and pictures here

Does the sport ever stop?
September 18, 2025 in Sport

Even though some of the sports have reached the end of their seasons, others keep going. The soccer ladies are advancing through the finals and the golfers keep at it. There was even a Hole In One!
See some results here

Pines Wind Farm update
September 25, 2025 in General News

The promoters of the Pines Wind Farm have held several information sessions for local residents but the event at Black Springs on September 18 was a little different. This time the media heard from three local residents who spoke favourably about the project ...
See more of the story here

Battle for the bush? Ignore the noise - most farmers like renewables
September 25, 2025 in General News

To put some perspective into the debate, this article from The Conversation is by some scientists who have actually done some research. The results might surprise some people and annoy some other people but science follows the facts, not opinions or feelings.
Read the article here

Editorial - Getting your story into the media
September 25, 2025 in General News

There were protesters outside the Black Springs Community Hall at the Pines Wind Farm event mentioned above. They of course have every right to protest and make their views known. One protestor however crossed a line by challenging and insulting me. The challenge took the form of questioning my qualifications as a journalist (thirty years in papers, magazines and online) and the insults were accusing me of bias and saying I was angry when I reacted by referring to the quite clear statement of neutrality on this site.

Some words of advice for people who want to get their stories into the media:

• Do not ask the journalist for his credentials and then turn your nose up at his union membership.
• Do not accuse the journalist of bias and then get concerned when he reacts badly.
• If nothing is being published about your cause, maybe send out some media releases. Understand that media releases may be edited for length, style, clarity and legality, but your intent will remain. Also, don't just repeat what you have said before, say something new and newsworthy.
• If you demand that exactly what you want to say is published without change or comment, the relevant words are "pay for advertising".

A walk around a beautiful garden
September 25, 2025 in Community

Over the weekend of September 13 and 14, Brenda Lyons' wonderful garden at Brydie Park on Sloggetts Road was open to the public.
See the photos here

How long does a DA take?
September 25, 2025 in General News

Everyone complains about how long it takes for a Development Application to find its way through a council's bureaucracy, but how long does it really take? A candidate for one council in the latest elections stood on a platform of immediate approval of DAs as soon as they were submitted with no examination by council staff, but most people would consider this a bit dangerous, or maybe even a bit silly.

The NSW Department of Planning issues a league table each year showing the DA performance of councils across the state. For the 2024/25 year, Wingecarribee Council (52,709 residents) got the record at an average of 239 days from application to approval. At the other end of the scale, Brewarrina (1,356) took an average of 15 days. It could be that the time to approve DAs is related to how many come in.

So how did Oberon (5,580) compare? The average delay here was 113 days. If there is a direct relationship between population and DA processing time then Oberon should take 25 days (compared to Wingecarribee) or 62 days measured against Brewarrina.

This looks like a case where the teacher would write "Could do better" on the report card.

(Populations are as at the 2021 census.)

When too much schooling is never enough
September 25, 2025 in Schools

Oberon's schools might be winding down for the end of term and the coming final exams, but that doesn't mean the learning (and the fun) is falling off.
Have a look at what's going on here

The winning goes on and on
September 25, 2025 in Sport

The Women's 2nd Grade soccer team kept up the winningness by winning the Grand Final. That's three Oberon teams dominating this season. Congratulations. And there's more sport as well.
See the results here