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Drovers Campfire Back in Boggabri

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The Boggabri Drovers campfire is back in 2020 for another huge event as thousands flock from all over Australia to enjoy the laid back Boggabri lifestyle. 

Founded around 13 years ago by Boggabri Lions Club member Geoff Eather, the Drovers campfire started with just 36 caravans and has since grown to over 500 vehicles and over 1000 people with April 19, 2020 looking to smash those numbers.

At the time, Geoff was driving a cotton truck for a living and would watch all the caravans migrating North for the winter months, which sparked his interest in drawing them into his hometown of Boggabri for a night or two. In the early years the campfire was run by the Boggabri Lions Club and a few farmers who were trying to entertain and showcase their district.

Taking out the Community Festivals and Events Award at the Regional Tourism Awards in 2013, 2015 and 2016, the event continues to make its mark on the tourism industry and guarantees bigger and better events each year.

Now coming into its 14thyear visitors are coming earlier and staying longer with most visitors staying for a 6-day event, doubling the population of Boggabri over those few days.

Taking about 13 months to organise, the campfire brings in people from all over Australia and has even had some international visitors, with many visiting from the Central Coast, Newcastle and Sydney areas on your way North. “We are finding many people are now making a special trip to Boggabri to experience our country hospitality and laid-back lifestyle,” said co-organiser Richard Gillham.

“We try to give people a look at what happens in the country with many tours to local places of interest around Boggabri and the shire.”

Some of the tours include visiting cotton farms, cattle property, shearing demonstrations, coal mine tours, Santos tours, Narrabri Gaol, Baan Baa school, Narrabri fish farm and Sawn Rocks. There are also many other activities around town and at the showground from the arts and craft show, fashion parades, local market stalls and dog jumps to singing, poetry, skits, billy boiling and damper cooking. It’s an event jampacked to keep everyone entertained.

“We are grateful to our current sponsors that allow us to run such a successful event; NSW government, Explore Narrabri Region, Boggabri Idemitsu Coal, Coates Hire, Civeo, Santos, Simply Print Anything, Whitehaven Coal and Namoi Wastecorp,” said Richard.

With all hoping for a green Drovers in 2020, there’s hopes of a visit to Dripping Rock, something that hasn’t been possible for years due to the current drought.

Head to http://www.droverscampfire.com.auto register or contact Richard Gillham on 0427 815 030 if you’d like to help out in any way.

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