The annual awards night was held on Saturday at the Broken Hill Civic Centre, with many towns competing in categories such as Tourist Attractions and Best Digital Presentation.

The Drovers’ Campfire took out first place in the Festivals and Events category for the third time and also snapped up the Judges’ Award.

Campfire co-ordinator and founder Geoff Eather said it was “unbelievable” to win both awards.

“We thought we had a fair chance of getting our category but it never crossed our mind that we’d win the Judges’ Award,” he said.

“We won that against all the others that night, so that was really a feather in our cap.

“We must be doing something right if people are impressed.”

Awards co-ordinator Belinda King said the Judges’ Award was given to those “who have gone above and beyond their category descriptor”.

The Drovers’ Campfire weekend is an annual event held in Boggabri in April, which includes entertainment, campfire cooking, bush yarns and demonstrations of rural activities. It began in 2006.

The award overview praised the hard work of the volunteers, their ability to work on a “shoe-string budget” and the event’s positive impact on the Boggabri community and those who attend.

“The growth of this event has been spectacular... It is a tiny community punching well above its weight – the number of visitors coming into town exceeds the town’s population. The event encapsulates the town’s motto - ‘the little town with a big heart’,” the overview said.  

“The event inspires the community – it is now part of the social calendar – something that people look forward to – it significantly raised morale during the drought and brought people together, got them thinking about other things and provided a ‘laugh’.”

In the overview, the site visit judge said meeting the Drovers’ Campfire committee was a “goosebump moment”.

“The Boggabri community has pooled their passion, work ethic, ingenuity and warmth, to create an amazing event. Nothing phases them – regulations, natural disasters, no money – are all taken in their stride,” the judge said.

This year’s event in April experienced some difficulties, with a loss of numbers due to flooding in the Hunter Valley and along the Central Coast, and the tragic death of Good Corn Liquor band member Stuart McKenzie on the way to the event.

“It’s been a pretty tough year and we’ve come out of it pretty well,” Mr Eather said.

“We’ve actually got more bookings for next year than we did last year at this time.”

Mr Eather’s wife, Elaine, their daughters Jenny Smith and Joanna Gillham, Joanna’s husband, Richard, and friends Ron and May Boxsell all attended the awards ceremony. 

Both Jenny and Joanna are involved in the Campfire event and Richard is a “driving force”, according to Mr Eather.

“We’ve got a very good community involvement in it now. It’s unreal,” he said.

Mr Eather said he was thankful to Narrabri Shire Tourism manager Penny Jobling for assisting them with their category application because it was a lengthy process.

“It’s a shame really that more tourism operations don’t put in for more awards. I think that it’s in people’s interests to join the awards. There’s a lot in it for you,” he said.

“It gives you an insight and you meet all sorts of people and get more ideas.” 

The Drovers’ Campfire will now compete for a finalist position at the NSW Tourism Awards to be held in Sydney in November. 

The event snagged a finalist position last year up against the likes of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

The Eathers and Boxsells will return home to Boggabri tonight after a fortnight on the road. 

They have taken advantage of the trip to Broken Hill, visiting tourist attractions along the way. 

“It was well worth the thousand k’s to Broken Hill,” Mr Eather said.