Were you at The Purple House fundraiser? Well done to the University of New England staff and students who helped raise about $4000 for the organisation. See our gallery of photos here. 

Armidale was first settled in the early 1830s, following the earlier exploration of the area by John Oxley.

St Peter's Anglican Cathedral was designed by J Horbury Hunt and was constructed from 1871 to 1878.

Armidale today contains more than 30 heritage listed buildings.

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DAMAGE to the Imperial Hotel from trucks accessing the Loading Zone in Faulkner Street has forced a rethink on parking there. For the full story click here.

See whats for sale and who is hiring in our classifieds section

MERINO Wethers with lice, 5-7 months wool. Phone 0427 750 155. For more information click here.

2010 TOYOTA KLUGER KX-R FWD 7 SEAT GSU40R MY11 UPGRADE . Click here for more details.

Charterhouse Medical are keen to hear from experienced Sonographers who are interested in an exciting permanent contract available in August in the New England Region of NSW. For more information click here. 

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Tweet us your weather pics. 

Time is running out for students in North West New South Wales to enter Origin’s littleBIGidea competition, which aims to foster creativity and innovation in students from years 3 to 8.

The competition, launched by Origin in May, aims to provide a platform for students to continue Australia’s rich tradition of innovation which has seen solar hot water, the black box flight recorder, the fridge and the bionic ear, amongst others, invented and developed on these shores. 

littleBIGidea judges include James O’Loghlin, former host of the ABC’s The New Inventors; Christie Burnett, editor of popular parenting blog Childhood101.com; and Bernard Caleo, presenter of Origin’s Energy for Schools shows.

Three overall winners will win a trip to Florida, USA to visit innovative hotspots including the Kennedy Space Centre, Epcot Theme Park - Walt Disney World Florida and Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Other prizes include $1,000 in education grants for each of the nine runners-up; $4,000 to spend on energy upgrades for the 12 finalist student’s schools; plus and tickets to an education conference for the teacher nominated by each of these students. 

Australian students from year three to year eight can enter by visiting www.littlebigidea.com.au  

Entries close at 11.59pm AEST Friday September 5.