The story of hard-bitten local newspaper identities and their publications has been told in a recent article published in British academic journal Media History. Local author and historian Ian Willis details the travails of local reporters, printers, owners, and others who made the news across the region for over 140 years.
Category: Attachment to place
Camden Showgirl, the enduring appeal of a rural pageant
The Showgirl competition (formerly Miss Showgirl) is a complex mix of paradoxes and apparent contradictions reflecting many aspects of rural life. The pageant is an exercise in women's agency with differing representations of womanhood.
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Traditional trades, the legacy of Camden’s carpenters
Carpentry, vital in Camden for centuries, began with Aboriginal bush carpentry using local materials for survival. European settlers adopted this craft, creating simple structures and relying on ingenuity. Formal carpentry evolved with guilds and apprenticeships, maintaining traditional techniques and tools, shaping Camden's architectural landscape with lasting quality.
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Camden’s heritage inventory
The Camden Heritage Inventory has a list of Camden properties of local and state significant to the district. The formation of the Camden Council Heritage Advisory Committee has assisted the promotion of heritage in the Camden LGA.
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Camden Show Sponsors’ Night
The Camden Show committee expressed gratitude to sponsors during the 2025 event, highlighting the long-term support from Hennings Jewellers. President David Dunbier anticipated 48,000 attendees and addressed past challenges, while Ellen Stucki shared her ambassadorial experience. The show, a prominent regional event since 1886, strengthens community identity and engagement.
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The Camden News affronted by Sydney ‘flappers’ and the appearance of the modern girl.
The modern girl appeared in Camden in the 1920s as she did elsewhere in the world. One representation of the modern girl was the 'flapper' who had a variety of responses in the town.
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Take a stroll through the past
The past is all around us and has created the present. The present would not exist without the past. We need to understand the past to understand the present.
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Camden Rotary Pioneer Mural: public art, a mural, a memorial wall and a wishing well
The Camden Pioneer Mural is an example of public art. The Camden mural depicts the Camden story as interpreted in 1962 by ceramic artist Byram Mansell.
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Experience Camden’s Vivid Jacaranda Blooms
Jacaranda trees in bloom create anticipation and excitement in November each year in Camden. The purple haze is an indication that summer and Christmas are not far away. The colours attract locals and visitors to the town centre particularly after a November shower.
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Local Newspapers and a Regional Setting in New South Wales
UOW historian Dr Ian Willis has recently published an article in Media History (UK) about the role of local newspapers in the creation of Macarthur regional identity and the mythology surrounding New South Wales colonial identity John Macarthur.
