About
The "Talking Gazette" (often referred to locally as the Blue Mountains Talking Gazette) was established in 2003 in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, as a free community resource. 
Conceived by local resident Thelma Murphy OAM in conjunction with the Springwood Neighbourhood Centre, the service was created to provide news and information to residents who are blind, have low vision, or experience impairments that prevent them from reading the standard local newspaper. 

Early Beginnings and Production
The project began as an entirely volunteer-led initiative, with community members acting as rotating narrators to read articles, community notices, and local features from the Blue Mountains Gazette.  Even today, volunteers from the Springwood Neighbourhood Centre record articles to produce the digital media each week.

Early editions were distributed to clients on cassette tapes, allowing listeners to stay connected to their local community.

Technological Evolution
CD/DVD Transition: As cassette technology phased out, the service shifted to distributing audio on CDs and DVDs.

Future Developments
The future looks great for The Talking Gazette.  A project is currently proposed to also allow access to the weekly recordings online.  A test website is currently being checked and revised to see how this will aid faster delivery of the content, usually on the day of publication of the newspaper.  It requires additional funds to develop this system and the Springwood Neighbourhood Centre is looking int available grants.

Thelma Murphy OAM - 1923-2020