I hope you all enjoyed the King’s Birthday long weekend. It was very nice to wake up to sunshine streaming in the windows after the wet weather we’ve had. And there was certainly a bit going on around town, especially with the NSW Rugby Under 13s State Championships taking place. A big effort for the Orange City Rugby Club, which hosted the tournament, plus all the other volunteers who helped make it happen. You will find photos of the Central West side in action inside this edition. When sending these photos through to us, our photographer, Henry, commented that these kids play just as hard as any first-grade side!

The Orange Purlers, our dedicated group of volunteer knitters, are having a ‘Knit-In’ this Saturday from 10am – 2pm at Orange City Library. People are welcome to come along and see their handiwork, and they would also love donations of 8 ply wool or acrylic, which they use to make blankets for the charity Wrap With Love. Anything you can give would be appreciated,

I want to say thanks to Chris Watson from Farmpix Photography for generously letting us print his stunning photo of steam locomotive 3526 in action over the long weekend. You can find more on his social media pages, which are well worth following. The steam weekend was held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the railway line arriving in Bathurst and you can read a little more on that historical occasion inside this week’s edition. Orange will have its own chance to celebrate the sesquicentenary of rail transport in the Colour City next year, with the line officially opening on April 19, 1876.

Until next week!