“Over 8,000 people attended the Country Week exhibition,” said Council General Manager, Paul Devery. “Of those, 320 expressed interest in Cowra and Council has been following up those leads in the past couple of months, with invitations sent out to attend a Cowra Open Day.”

“The Open Day was coordinated by Mike Foster, Cowra Business Officer, and I’d like to congratulate him on all his hard work to put this successful day together,” Mr Devery said.

Council was pleased with the response from the Open Day with a number of families attending and enjoying a tour of Cowra, including schools, sporting facilities, retail and entertainment.

Mayor Bill West was on hand to greet the potential new residents and said that their positive attitude was contagious.

“It was good to see Cowra through the eyes of the families attending the Open Day,” he said.

“For a lot of these people, Cowra represents a new life and a new lifestyle.

“It reminded me how lucky we are to live in this

community and I hope that some of this weekend’s visitors decide to make the move and join us.”

In fact, one family has already made that decision, the Paki family from Western Sydney is moving to Cowra in 2010.

“My family is excited and looking forward to our adventure in Cowra,” said father of three, Tane Paki.

“So far our plans are going well, and all we really need is a job.

“I am a qualified mechanic with field service and supervisory experience.

“I have also worked in the construction industry and have two years tax preparation experience.

“With the excitement that the Mayor and Mike [Foster, Cowra Business Officer] express, I know it won't be hard to find something.”

Council looks forward to working with the other

families in the coming months to offer support and

assistance to encourage them to make the move to Cowra.