Gore Queen of Country Music visits Tamworth for country music festival

The Gore queen and Tamworth mayor planted a New Zealand native shrub in The Gore Gardens section of the botanic garden, as part of an ongoing tradition celebrating the Sister City relationship between Gore, New Zealand and Tamworth, NSW.

Tamworth's Queen of Country Music was absent from the ceremony, as the council was unable to name one for 2023, blaming the pandemic for the temporary abolition of the monarchy.

"There's a lot of things that were thrown out of whack by COVID, and we need to get going on bringing them all back again," Mayor Russell Webb said.

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Gore has also had its issues with COVID.

Ms Millan was crowned Gore Queen of Country Music in 2021, but was unable to travel to Tamworth due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The queen was also supposed to travel with an entourage, but due to logistical issues she instead came to Tamworth alone.

Even without a Tamworth queen to show her around, Ms Millan has been enjoying other forms of Tamworth hospitality.

"I was a little nervous at first without my crew, but everybody's been kind and welcoming," Ms Millan said.

As the current Gore Queen of Country Music, Ms Millan acts as an official representative of the Gore Country Music Club.

The club hosts its own country music festival and Golden Guitar awards, the latter of which Ms Millan has participated in both as a contender and a presenter.

Meanwhile, the Tamworth council is hoping to revitalise more of these sister city traditions and grow closer ties to Gore.

"Tamworth has many sister cities, but Gore in New Zealand is the closest, not just in terms of geography but also in culture," Cr Webb said.

Councillor Steve Mears will be responsible for Tamworth's outreach programs to Gore, including the reciprocation of the Gore queen's visit.

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