Australia Day in Coonamble Shire's Gulargambone will be celebrated this year with local community leader Paul Fisher as ambassador. 

Gulargambone was one of six locations that didn't receive an 'official' ambassador through the national program, therefore the choice fell on local farmer and council member Paul Fisher. 

"We've always been quite lucky with our ambassadors but this year, the ones they've asked decided Gular is too far away, which is quite disappointing," secretary and treasurer of Gulargambone's Australia Day committee Daphne Earsman said. 

Since his endorsement Cr Fisher also invited local ice swimming champion Peta Bradley to come and give a speech. 

"When I first asked Paul, he was a bit taken by surprise but he did say yes, and now, he's embraced the role so far as asking Peta to join him," Ms Earsman said. 

"She's a great public speaker. She's going to come and tell the story of the swim she's done in the English Channel," Cr Fisher said. 

"I think Australia Day is a day to recognize all nationalities within Australia, no matter where you come from to say that you are all a part of this country." 

Australia Day is usually a big event for Gulargambone with around 150 to 200 attendees.

The ceremony will kick off at 9am at the Lions Club park near the river bank with plenty of shade for the visitors, followed by the traditional rabbit trap relay, gumboot throwing, and watermelon eating competition. 

"We're trying to keep it plain and simple but still entertaining and I think we've got the interest going this year again," Ms Earsman said. 

Regional amabassador for Coonamble 

Wiradjuri Elder Glendra Stubbs will be Coonamble's ambassador. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her services to the Indigenous community in 2022.

"We are delighted to have an ambassador and delighted it is a woman of caliber and accomplishment from our own Orana regional community," Director of Community, Planning, Development, and Environment Barry Broe said. 

Over the past four decades, Ms Stubbs dedicated her life to providing guidance and support to trauma survivors, supporting families through any challenges that arise with out-of-home care. 

In the early 1990s, Ms Stubbs took up work at Link-Up NSW which helps Indigenous people who were forcibly removed from their home due to government policies find their family again. 

Thanks to Ms Stubb's tireless work people who are searching for their birth parents do not have to pay a fee at the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. 

Ms Stubbs has held many high-profile positions throughout her life, including as Aboriginal Engagement advisor for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the National Stolen Generations Alliance, and Metro Migrant Resource Centre.  

Australia Day celebrations in Coonamble will kick off at 8am at the Showground with a free breakfast from the local Rotary Club, followed by a Citizenship Ceremony and the awards presentation at 9am. The Country Women's Association will provide morning tea afterward.

The fun continues afterwards at local pubs and clubs - check out Australia Day at the Termo.