Hi, I am Margaret Stepniewski, Managing Editor of The Echo. This new independent community paper will be delivered to your home and local business monthly. This is your paper for local news, information and events
The Blue Mountains has a rich and colourful history of local newspapers, starting with The Mountain Advertiser in the mid 1870’s, followed by another 42 individual papers since then, and that is not counting the publications produced mainly for visitors! The Local Studies section in Springwood library has a fascinating history of local papers in the Blue Mountains since the 1870’s The first Blue Mountains Echo circulated from 1909 to 1928. The second Blue Mountains Echo ran from1939 for a very short time and the third one was published from1981 until 1989. The Echo is a very traditional name for a newspaper but is especially appropriate for this area with Echo Point in Katoomba. We are all interested in ‘eco’ living nowadays and the way we treat the environment now will continue to echo down through the generations!
I started the Mulgoa Valley & Warradale Gazette in 1995 to provide a community information paper for our five local villages, Mulgoa, Luddenham, Wallacia, Silverdale and Warragamba. Divided into three Local Government areas, two Federal areas and two State areas, the Gazette has helped create a sense of identity for this area and still provides regular updates on important local issues and events as well as celebrating achievements and sharing sorrows – all the kind of information that we used to get by chatting to our neighbours.
The Glenmore Gazette started in July 2004 to give the residents in Glenmore Park the same opportunity. The suburb has grown quickly with many families moving into the area with few local connections. Many people have to travel out of the area for work and do not have time to get involved but still want to keep in touch with the neighbourhood.
The Emu & Leonay Gazette was started in May 2006. This area has its own unique identity. It is over the river from Penrith but not part of the Blue Mountains. It has a well-established community but needed its own paper and the Gazette has fulfilled this and is very popular.
The Gazettes all have their own web site which are linked with www.districtgazette.com.au. These websites are being updated but have the latest and previous editions available for viewing
