About Narrabri Courier

Narrabri Courier

Overview

The Narrabri Courier is the local newspaper of Narrabri and the Namoi Valley in north-west New South Wales. First published in 1913, it was owned for more than a century by the Dunnet family through The North Western Courier Pty Ltd, one of Australia's last independent family newspaper companies. In May 2026 the Courier and its sister papers ceased publication; within weeks they were acquired by Times News Group, and the Courier returned to publication in June 2026 under its new owner. It publishes in print and online at narrabricourier.com.au.

The Courier serves the Narrabri Shire — Narrabri itself and the villages of Boggabri, Edgeroi, Bellata and the farming country between — in one of Australia's great cotton and grain districts. Alongside the Courier, its publishing company built a small stable of north-west titles: the weekly Wee Waa News, founded in 1991; the free North Western Guide, launched in 2019; and the Gunnedah Times, launched in 2020, all of which shared the Courier's fate in the 2026 closure and, for the three paid mastheads, the Times News Group revival.

History

The Courier was first published in 1913. In 1920 the publishing company was bought by J. S. Dunnet, and from that date, in the company's own words to the federal inquiry into Australia's regional newspapers, it was owned by subsequent generations of the Dunnet family for nearly 102 years. John Dunnet, a former managing director of the Courier, was a past president of both Country Press NSW and the national Country Press Australia, and long one of the country press's most prominent advocates. By the time of the company's 2022 inquiry submission, the current generation was Ian and Wanda Dunnet, the company employed 22 people as well as more than 20 paperboys and girls, and it kept offices in the main streets of Narrabri and Gunnedah.

The company expanded steadily from its Narrabri base. It began publishing the weekly Wee Waa News in 1991 for the township of Wee Waa, started the free weekly North Western Guide in 2019, and on 12 November 2020 published the first edition of the Gunnedah Times for the Gunnedah Shire. The Courier itself was published twice weekly in the Dunnet era, servicing the Narrabri Shire.

In 2026 the century of family ownership ended. The Courier ceased publication on 7 May 2026, together with the Gunnedah Times and the Wee Waa News. The closure was brief: Times News Group acquired the three mastheads, and the papers returned on 11 June 2026. Announcing the acquisition on 1 June 2026, Times News Group managing director Warick Brown said the company believed the newspapers were too important to lose: "When a local newspaper closes, communities lose far more than a publication. They lose a watchdog, a storyteller, a historical record and one of the few institutions dedicated entirely to covering local issues." Times News Group's registration with the ACMA register of eligible news businesses lists the Narrabri Courier among its mastheads.

Programming and Content

The Courier's journalism is the traditional country-paper mix, built around Narrabri Shire Council, the courts and emergency services, the cotton and grain industries, water and irrigation politics in the Namoi Valley, schools, churches, sport and the social record of births, marriages and milestones. Trade publication B&T, reporting the paper's 2026 return, described how the Courier and its sister titles "have chronicled droughts, floods, harvests, local elections, sporting triumphs, business developments and everyday stories" for their communities. Community content remains characteristic of the revived paper: a September 2026 Courier item marked a Narrabri couple's 68th wedding anniversary, with celebrations at the local aged-care residence — the kind of hyper-local record the masthead has always carried.

Former managing director John Dunnet's description of the paper in its family era captures the model the new owners said they intended to preserve: a traditional country paper covering "local news and events in detail, including sport and social matters", maintaining what he called the fourth estate's role "to warn, encourage, praise and advise", with readers found waiting at their front gates on publication days for the paperboy or girl. Times News Group's stated role, in Brown's words, is "not to change what makes them special" but "to ensure they have a future", with existing advertising rates honoured for returning advertisers. Brown's case for the rescue was the character of country journalism itself: "People want to read about their towns, their farms, their businesses, their sporting clubs and the issues affecting their communities. That's what local newspapers do best."

Audience and Reach

The Courier's audience is the population of the Narrabri Shire and the Namoi Valley — cotton and grain farming families, the businesses of Narrabri's main street, and the villages of the district. Its sister titles extended the company's reach across the north-west: the Wee Waa News in Wee Waa, the Gunnedah Times in the Gunnedah Shire, and the free North Western Guide across the wider region. No audited circulation figures for the Courier are published, and none are claimed here; its standing is instead reflected in its survival — a more-than-century-old masthead whose closure in 2026 was treated by its acquirer as a loss the region should not bear — and in its registration on the ACMA register of eligible news businesses under its new owner.

Digital Presence

The Courier's website, narrabricourier.com.au, has been the company's online home since the Dunnet era, when the company described itself as also developing a dedicated site for the Gunnedah Times. The site carries the paper's local news, sport and community content, and mirrored copies of Courier items appearing through the second half of 2026 — including its September 2026 community coverage — confirm the masthead publishing online under Times News Group ownership as well as in print. The website is the point of contact for subscriptions, advertising and news tips for the revived paper.

Ownership and Organisation

The Narrabri Courier is owned by Times News Group, the Victorian-based independent newspaper group led by managing director Warick Brown, which acquired the Courier, the Gunnedah Times and the Wee Waa News in 2026 after their May closure. The acquisition added a north-west NSW cluster to Times News Group's New South Wales network, which also includes the Byron Coast Times, Ballina Times, Tweed Coast Times and Lismore Times; the group had previously revived the McIvor Times in Heathcote and the Moorabool News in Victoria, titles Brown cited as precedents when announcing the Narrabri rescue. Before the sale, the Courier was the flagship of The North Western Courier Pty Ltd, the Dunnet family's company, which owned it from 1920 until 2026 — one of the longest runs of independent family ownership in Australian country journalism. The North Western Guide, the company's free title, did not feature in the announced revival of the three paid mastheads.

Contact and Availability

The Narrabri Courier is published in print and online for Narrabri and the Namoi Valley from its website, narrabricourier.com.au. In its family era the company maintained offices in the main streets of Narrabri and Gunnedah; under Times News Group, local businesses were publicly encouraged by the group's managing director to make contact about restarting advertising campaigns, with existing rates honoured. Readers can reach the paper through its website for subscriptions, advertising and news tips.