”At a time when many country towns have ceased to have an eisteddfod, we are proud of the fact that Inverell has managed to keep going,” music co-ordinator Barbara Wigg said. 

Inverell’s first eisteddfod was in 1948, just after the second world war.

“In these early years the eisteddfod attracted large numbers of young people, as this would have been a wonderful opportunity for local people to perform and show their talent and there was not the competition from TV, computers, mobile phones or other devices,” Ms Wigg said.

For many years the dance, music and speech programs were run together, making an eisteddfod of up to 10 days. In recent years the dance eisteddfod has been held in May and the music, speech and drama categories in late August or early September.

In 2018 the Eisteddfod Society are reuniting the two events and holding one eisteddfod in June. The dance category will run from June 16-19, followed by the music and speech sections from June 20-23.

“This means that we can have one big celebration of our 70 years,” Ms Wigg said.

The Society is keen to learn more about the event’s early days, particularly eisteddfods which were held in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

“If any readers were involved in the eisteddfod in that era, we would love to hear about your experiences,” Ms Wigg said.

The Society hope to make use of the tales during the first six months of 2018. To tell your tale, call Barbara Wigg on 67222119.