Any and all donations are hugely appreciated, and help save our small Australian country town print newspaper - in print since 1899 - or you can subscribe $1 (US.64c) to receive a digital edition of our newspaper, and discover week by week why Manilla NSW matters.

My name is Monica Nash, and I am the Editor-in-Chief of the Manilla Express. My work on the newspaper is entirely voluntary, given in the spirit of community service and to help preserve this historic local publication.

We employ three staff, 2 journalists and an admin officer, jobs in Barraba, Attunga and Manilla. For these regional small areas that is not something that goes unnoticed, and we need to preserve these local jobs.

Enough subscribers can ensure that we not only are able to again provide a weekly print newspaper to the elderly, isolated, and those who simply want to sit down and read the paper, and to preserve our local history and the 127 year heritage of the Manilla Express, but we can continue to support the local job market, which is also under attack with changes such as the inability to find printers locally.

If we are fortunate enough to grow to 1,500 subscribers at A$5 per month, it will allow us to print in Sydney and have the newspapers delivered. If we can reach 3,000 subscribers, we can support our paid workers who administer and support the entire operation into succession — assisting with content creation, production, organisation, community contact, advertising, co-ordination, and the many tasks needed to keep a small newspaper strong and sustainable long into the future.

As a subscriber, you receive real value each week through our Manilla Express digital edition. You gain access to local news, community events, school achievements, sport, local history, personalities, business updates, regional issues, rural news and interesting commentary, photographs, and the stories that larger media outlets often overlook. You will also discover the enormous number of community events that help define country life, including the annual Manilla Vintage Machinery Rally, the Annual Poultry Show, the Manilla Agricultural Show, and many other gatherings driven by volunteers and community spirit.

You will discover, week by week, from our digital edition of the Manilla Express why Manilla matters — a proud country town with character, resilience, and heart.

For local readers, it is connection. For former residents, it is a link back home. For others across Australia and overseas, it is a window into authentic Australian country life, community values, and the enduring spirit of regional towns.

If this story speaks to you, please consider donating here to help keep the printed newspaper alive, or subscribe monthly, or directly through manillaexpress.com.au and become part of our future. Every contribution matters, and every reader helps keep this 127-year-old community voice in print, also on manillaexpress.com.au