The Western Plains App would like to give a warm welcome to our new casual journalist, Danny Hanrahan.

Danny, 67, has recently made the big move from Adelaide in South Australia to Bourke after his wife Maureen was offered a job as an Assistant Principal at the local catholic school.

"The existing principal at St Ignatius Parish School left at the end of term three and they could not find a replacement. Maureen decided to take the job, so we have travelled out to Bourke for a term to help out the school community," Danny said.

Danny and Maureen retired two years ago, and before accepting the job in Bourke have spent the last two years travelling around Australia.

"Maureen and I have lived and travelled to many country towns across Australia. We used to live in Wilcannia for about 3 years. It was a great little town!"

"After living in Wilcannia for a while, we decided to retire and buy a caravan". 

"We have always loved travelling! Maureen and I are always talking about adventuring around Australia. We have recently travelled to Western Australia and hope to do Queensland next year. Our caravanning motto is 'adventure before dementia," Danny laughed.

Before becoming a journalist at the Western Plains App, Danny was a professional photographer, computer technician and owner of the 'Off Roading Online' magazine.

"I started off as a landscape photographer and soon moved into off-road racing photography," said Danny.

"I worked for many years as a computer network and technician manager for my magazine 'Off Roading Online'. The magazine was the first of its kind and quite successful as I sold about six to seven thousand magazines every month".

Say g'day if you see Danny out and about around Bourke.

"I took a chance on a random guy from Israel who developed and created software that enabled me to publish my PDF's into an online magazine".

"It was really great, viewers could read the magazine online as if they were flipping the pages over in person".

"Unfortunately, I stopped publishing the 'Off Roading Online' magazine because 4WD magazines started to get onto the software and then with the creation of Facebook, news was available every second without posting a magazine once a month," he said.

Managing Editor of the Western Plains App, Lee O'Connor, says that Danny has been a welcome addition and a really good fit for the team.

"We've been trying all year to find someone in the Bourke area to write for us," she said. "I couldn't believe my luck when Danny applied for the job."

"He was completely comfortable with the online stuff and because he's been around a bit, and in small towns, he knows how to talk to people and how to listen!"

"He's also one of those life-long learners we hear about, so he's curious about everything and really interested in what's happening out here."

"I'm sure everyone in Bourke has been very welcoming and I know he'll enjoy his time working in the community," Lee said.

Danny is currently enjoying his time at the Western Plains App, saying that it is great fit for him.

"I absolutely love working at the Western Plains App. It is the perfect job as I am able to work from the comfort of my own home," he said.

"Being a journalist for the Western Plains App allows me to go out into the Bourke community to seek and meet a lot of new people to find stories to write about.

"It is a very stimulating job - being a journalist can be very difficult at times but overall it is an extremely rewarding and enjoyable job," Danny said.