The internet has been the death knell for local papers across the land, but there are some exceptions.
One of them is The Menangle News, which has been publishing since 1981.
Far from closing down, Sue Peacock, who started the monthly paper all those years ago, is hoping to expand the coverage next year.
She has even put a notice on the front page of the November edition, calling for locals to get on board if they have any reporting and editing experience or to deliver the paper.
“It’s about bringing the community together, having a local paper,’’ she tells me when we sit down for a chat at the Menangle general store on the corner of Station Street and Menangle Road.
“It’s a wonderful community that sticks together, whether it’s on development issues,’’ she says.
Her November front page includes a list of the birthdays of locals, anniversaries, announcements about community events such as carols on the hill on December 6, a bit of humour with Thomo’s Corner and the coming church services at St James Anglican and St Patricks Catholic Church.
The church service announcements enjoy a prominent location on the top of the page, but editor Sue Peacock makes no apologies for that.
That’s because The Menangle News was the result of an experience Ms Peacock believes was an epiphany of some kind.
Sue started the paper in 1981, after what she says was a spiritual experience, some kind of epiphany.
She and her husband Brian had moved to Menangle from Liverpool in 1977.
Both teachers, they had been posted to Liverpool schools.
“We had decided that we would have a family in our own home, so we started looking around,’’ Ms Peacock tells me.
“We had a look at Campbelltown and then came out to Menangle, and we just loved it,’’ she says.
“We were made very welcome by the locals, we loved it here, it was such a lovely community,’’ she says
That was in 1977.
The Peacocks had two children and life was wonderful.
But Sue Peacock says she went through a period when she felt unhappy.
“I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t happy with my life, even though I had a wonderful family, two children at the time, and lived in a great place here at Menangle,’’ she says.
“Then one night I read this religious booklet, and when I woke up the next morning, those negative thoughts were gone and I was no longer feeling discontented with my life.
“I decided to devote myself to doing things that were of benefit to others, to the community, and The Menangle News was born.’’
When her husband Brian suffered a serious injury playing rugby seven years later, and there were two more children in the family, The Menangle News was put to one side for a while.
“His club, Camden Rams, were really wonderful while Brian was in hospital,’’ she says.
“They gave us a word processor, so when Brian was able to, he became for the first time a member of The Menangle News team.’’
Brian passed away 12 months ago.
Sue Peacock, in the meantime, is keeping the local paper of Menangle going strong and plans to continue for as long as she can.
“Local news close to home is what most people are really interested in,’’ she says.
“This is my way of giving back to this wonderful community of Menangle.’’
It’s a shame that this wasn’t the outcome for the Macarthur Advertiser. I miss reading the newpaper on paper which I can actually feel, and is also more easy on the eyes.