Since white settlement in the early 1900’s, Comboyne people have been self reliant and resourceful. There is a history of strong community and sporting groups. The various community groups own and manage a number of important community facilities. These include the Comboyne Community Centre managed by the Comboyne Community Association; Comboyne Showground, managed by the Comboyne Agricultural & Horticultural Society; the Comboyne Memorial Hall, managed by the Hall Committee; the Comboyne Ex-Servicemen's & Citizens' Club, managed by the Club Board and the Comboyne Pre-School, held at the Hall.
The Comboyne Community Association (CCA) Inc. is a group that evolved from the Comboyne Ratepayers and Citizen’s Group in 2001. The main objective of the Comboyne Community Association is to work together to enhance our community and the environment of the Comboyne Plateau. We will provide leadership to create sustainable agriculture and promote environmental, social and economic benefits for our community.
We aim to achieve this through:
1. Identifying opportunities to improve community lifestyle, culture, services, facilities and infrastructure on the Plateau.
2. Encouraging discussion and debate and action on local issues involving all community groups and interested individuals.
The Comboyne Community Association was formed to try to stop the overall decline of our small rural community. Since 2002, a number of projects have been undertaken by the CCA. These include community strategic planning through the NSW DSRD Townlife Development Program. Also the establishment of the Comboyne Rural Transaction Centre and the Comboyne Community Technology Centre which are now incorporated in the Comboyne Community Centre.
These programs are examples of Federal and State governments’ approach to the rural decline, through funded economic development projects. However it is our objective that the benefits to our community will include broad-ranging development of social, environmental, political and cultural aspects of life. The projects, while focused in theory on economic development, can also be used to build networks, and for community education and capacity building.
Community change and rural restructuring is not just about the dominance of the greater forces of global economic change. Change comes from people too. This is our challenge at Comboyne, we are learning to work together to retain some degree of self-determination and to bring about change how we want it.
