The Carcoar community has witnessed a large increase in tourism numbers recently and that's sure to increase further with the announcement that they are the runner-up in the inaugural NSW Top Tourism Award for a town under 5,000 people.
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Berrima in the Southern Highlands, a town with three times the population of Carcoar, won the top award in that category while Mudgee beat Orange in the greater than 5,000 category.
President of the Carcoar Village Association Tim Hansen said that the highly commended award shows just how special the village is.
"For those of us that love Carcoar we're not surprised that people have recognised just how wonderful it is," he said.
Mr Hansen said that considering that Berrima is in close proximity to Canberra and is known as a day trip destination, Carcoar's win comes thanks to the grassroots campaign put together by members of the community.
"Kelly Picarazzi from Antica coordinated a group of filmmakers and writers to put together a fantastic package that won the judges over," he said.
Judging was split between a short video, itinerary and editorial article which were reviewed by a judging committee of 14 industry experts, and a popular vote and Mrs Picarazzi said that it was an incredible achievement for the team.
"Former 60 minutes cameraman Nick Lee filmed the video which was edited and directed by award winning director Frank Oly. They did a fantastic job on a video that had a time limit of only one minute," she said.
"The editorial was written by ABC journalist Micaela Hambrett so it was a true collaborative effort that will add to Carcoar's appeal as a tourism destination even further."
Blayney mayor Scott Ferguson said that the business development in Carcoar has helped lift its profile.
"This is a real coming of age for Carcoar and with the direct investment by those small businesses it shows that Carcoar is now on par with Millthorpe as a top tourism destination in the shire," he said.
THE TOP FIVE THINGS TO DO IN CARCOAR:
- TAKE A TUNNEL WALK: Head to the railway station, take in the view of the village then wander down the track to railway tunnel and see how far you can go before turning on the phone's torch
- PICNIC ON THE BELUBULA RIVER: It's a favourite on Australia Day so why not make it a regular event?
- PICK A MUSEUM, ANY MUSEUM: There's the Carmanhurst Military Museum, the 20th Century Toy Museum, the Courthouse Museum, the Hospital Museum and the Stoke Stable Museum.
- BROWSE THE SHOPS: Pop into Tomolly, the Rustic Flamingo and Carcoar Pottery before heading to the Royal Hotel for a restorative beverage.
- TAKE IN THE CHURCHES: Stroll up Coombing Street to the Church of Immaculate Conception and the Shalom Prayer Centre before wandering down to St Paul's which is now owned by the community.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
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Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
