People travelled from as far as Cobar to attend the Michael Egan Memorial Book Fair, and lined-up in the rain at Dubbo Showground to get their hands on some second-hand treasures.
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The fair, organised by Dubbo West Rotary Club, was a huge success on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30, with an expected $18,000 raised for the Royal Flying Doctor Service - Dubbo Support Group and cancer research charities.
Colin Shanks, Book Fair Coordinator, said fiction books were popular, as well as Australiana and gardening. However, the stand-out category for the weekend was children's books, and these tables were cleared of books entirely.
"It was absolutely fantastic. I was worried a bit the weather and rain would drive the crowds away, but it drove them in for us which was excellent," Mr Shanks told the Daily Liberal.
"For a large part of the Saturday there was consistently a large crowd browsing the books. It was quite full in there with people. There were around 200 people - some coming in and getting books and others leaving and getting replaced [by more people].
"There was a little line-up of 50 people when we first opened, people standing in the rain waiting to get first look at the books - that's pretty keen."
Some local childcare centres cleared away the last remaining children's books on the Sunday with a small portion going to St Vincent de Paul Society.
A handful of people hung around until the last half hour to grab loads of books at further discounted rates.
The Michael Egan Memorial Book Fair was established in 2010 in memory of Michael Egan, a Dubbo Macquarie Rotary member who passed away with cancer. Dubbo Macquarie Rotary organised the fair for 12 years until Dubbo West took the reins.
Mr Shanks thanked the local businesses who helped organise the fair and the huge job transporting 30,000 books from a shipping container to the Dubbo Showground.
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"If we didn't have their support it would be very hard to do," he said.
"A big thank you to the public coming out - for donating the books, then buying them back ... It was good to see those books getting a new lease of life."
The dates are set for the next Michael Egan Memorial Book Fair, to be held on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21, 2024.
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Sarah Falson
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
