Even through the drought, Nyngan has remained as strong-spirited as a good racehorse.
Story Lucy Taylor Photos Emily Taylor
If Nyngan were one person, it would be likeable rogue Rodney Robb, a local racehorse trainer and president of the show committee. Always armed with a joke and handy with a racing tip, Rodney has watched the town change and grow, from when he was working on the railway in 1979 to now. “A good-spirited town is like a good racehorse,” he says. “If he’s got no spirit, he ain’t gunna be much good. Our town Nyngan is a good racehorse – it’s got that spirit and it will finish that race.”
Located on the Bogan River in the Bogan Shire, central NSW, Nyngan has a resilient population of about 2000 people. Bookended by a caravan park to the south and craft store to the north, Nyngan’s main drag, Pangee Street, features the controversial 6m high, 1500kg Big Bogan statue, erected in 2015 – a thong-wearing, bicep-baring, Southern Cross tattoo-inscribed tourist attraction.
This story excerpt is from Issue #130
Outback Magazine: Apr/May 2020
