Do you know, I know New England pretty well, but I have never been to North Star, a small farming community in New England's north west. Nearby communities include Boggabilla to the north, Moree to the south. The Aboriginal community that I mentioned in Toomelah the movie opens in cinemas is not far away.
North Star is now the terminus of the branch railway line that once ran to Boggabilla from Moree. There is a story here. When the line was under consideration, one of the Progressive Party members for the then Northern Tablelands seat (David Drummond) fought to have planning for the line extended into Queensland to junction with the Queensland network. The move was opposed because it might divert wheat traffic from Sydney.
I mention North Star now because the community has taken to the internet in a big way via:
- a community web site
- a Facebook page
- and on Twitter (@NorthStarNSW)
Well done, but a suggestion. Do tell people where North Star actually is and how to get there!
Postscript:
To ask, sometimes,is to receive. Thanks to the miracles of twitter, the good folk at North Star added material to meet my suggestion as to the location of North Star.
5 comments:
I wonder if North Star still have their little shop. I used to have lunch there when working for the NSW government in that area and I've seen some beautiful storms and the panic of the farmers trying to get the wheat in before it is damaged.
The railway line used to go all the way to Bogabilla once and there was an 'exciting' railway crash there once. This web page is NSW-wide but has some good photos of the station (and a railway crash there once) http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:North+Star&line=NSW:boggabilla:0
I really should proof read what I write before I post it!
Thanks for this, Rod. Very interesting.
Ask and you shall receive; now there's a 'Visit North Star' page, complete with map. Thank you for noticing our little town and our attempt at an online presence!
Hi Krystle and thanks. Will bring the addition up in the main post.
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