{"id":726073,"date":"2026-06-09T22:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726073\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T22:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:40:12","slug":"tullamore-our-small-town-may-die-this-nsw-country-town-is-in-danger-of-disappearingarticle-intro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726073\/","title":{"rendered":"Tullamore: \u2018Our small town may die\u2019: This NSW country town is in danger of disappearing\nArticle intro…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tullamore was once a thriving rural community<\/a> with two general stores, two banks, a butcher, a hairdresser and a newsagency.<\/p>\n

But almost all of these businesses<\/a> have since shutdown and the town, in NSW\u2019s Central West, is in danger of disappearing.<\/p>\n

\"Tullamore<\/p>\n

Tullamore Hotel has mysteriously shut its doors.\u00a0VisitNSW<\/p>\n

Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at\u00a0april.glover@nine.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The small community of just under 500 people has now potentially lost its pub, too, after the new owners mysteriously closed the doors, effectively leaving the main strip on Cardigan Street a ghost town.<\/p>\n

Only a BP service station and a bowling club remain.<\/p>\n

Longtime resident Robert Edwards has lived in Tullamore for nearly 70 years. <\/p>\n

He said the town\u2019s main street has effectively been \u201ckilled\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe closure of the hotel is a kick in the guts,\u201d Edwards told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur community is weakening. Our small town may die.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tullamore Hotel changed hands in December 2025. <\/p>\n

Within six months, it closed without warning, the owners citing a \u201cchange in circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nine.com.au contacted the owners but is yet to receive a response.<\/p>\n

Residents say they are in the dark about why the pub closed and if it will reopen.<\/p>\n

The friendly country pub had a kitchen, accommodation and showers for passers-by or truck drivers stopping over in Tullamore.<\/p>\n

Its closure means visitors may bypass the town altogether.<\/p>\n

But Tullamore\u2019s problems extend far beyond its pub. <\/p>\n

Many are concerned it is shrinking beyond recognition.<\/p>\n

\"Tullamore<\/p>\n

Tullamore was once a thriving country town. But residents say it is in danger of dying.\u00a0VisitParkes<\/p>\n

Some blame property owners for buying up commercial sites and using them for residential purposes.<\/p>\n

Parkes Shire Council Deputy Mayor Marg Applebee said reports of shops being used for private accommodation are \u201cconcerning\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said the council is aware of this issue and would be \u201cproactive in regaining some of these facilities within the township of Tullamore\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very concerning if potentially these frontages on the main street have been purchased, and people are living there,\u201d Applebee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat takes away that presence from the main street area and that\u2019s very disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Street<\/p>\n

Cardigan Street in Tullamore in June 2024.\u00a0Google Maps<\/p>\n

The council said it is not aware of why Tullamore Hotel has been closed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a significant concern that this beautiful building within the town has shut down,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you lose something like that within a small community, it\u2019s a massive impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always standing up for our smaller communities. <\/p>\n

\u201cI always want to make sure that they\u2019re represented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some locals worry Tullamore is taking a back seat to the bigger nearby towns.<\/p>\n

Residents hope to rally together to keep the remaining places open.<\/p>\n

BP truckstop keeps town moving<\/p>\n

Jonathan Sleiman runs the BP Tullamore Truckstop & General Store, the town\u2019s only option for fresh groceries, petrol and other essentials.<\/p>\n

It has been described by residents as the \u201clifeblood\u201d of the town.<\/p>\n

Sleiman said he feels a sense of pride for being the community\u2019s saving grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a charm in Tullamore, once you\u2019re there you kind of fall in love with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community is beautiful, but they\u2019re also scared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sleiman bought the BP in April last year and extended it to include showers and a mini-mart.<\/p>\n

Without it, locals would have to travel nearly 100 kilometres to Parkes or Dubbo to shop at the closest supermarket.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the pub offered accommodation and dinner for people, we also get a lot of truckies coming through too,\u201d Sleiman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that closed, why would anyone pass through?\u201d<\/p>\n

Around 45 per cent of Sleiman\u2019s business is truck drivers stopping to rest, eat or refuel, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the truckies stop, we\u2019re up a creek without a paddle,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The BP Tullamore Truckstop & General Store is the town’s only option for fresh groceries.\u00a0Facebook\/BP Tullamore Truckstop & General Store<\/p>\n

Local bowlo faces pressure<\/p>\n

Robert\u2019s son David Edwards is the secretary of the Tullamore Bowling Club, one of the few establishments left open after the pub\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n

David said his beloved town, where he has lived his whole life, is fading away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community is concerned that the historical aspects of our town are disappearing,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve pretty much lost our main street. I\u2019d love to see it rebuilt.\u201d<\/p>\n

David, who owns an electrical business in Tullamore, is proud of the bowling club for surviving this long.<\/p>\n

But the community needs more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pressure for the bowling club to open for lunch, plus we have our town\u2019s only ATM,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He hopes the pub may reopen or be purchased by enterprising owners who can bring it back from the brink.<\/p>\n

Other establishments are at risk of a similar fate.<\/p>\n

Tullamore Central School, the only school in town, once had hundreds of students.<\/p>\n

There are now only about 50 children attending.<\/p>\n

Robert Edwards warned the ageing population of Tullamore and mass exodus of business owners may be the final nail in the coffin for the small NSW town.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very difficult to survive, people are disheartened they have to travel so far for services.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tullamore was once a thriving rural community with two general stores, two banks, a butcher, a hairdresser and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-726073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}