A Slice of Orange

Just as you pass the last lights of Bathurst, the road opens up and gives way to a spectacular open land as far as the eye can see. The trees are bigger, the air is crisper and the road curves and bends, wrapping itself around the beautiful hills that remain oblivious to the lights and smog; the hustle and bustle that lies just 3 short hours behind them.

I live in the city of Orange; population 39,329. I never imagined that I would ever say that! I have lived my life as the quintessential city girl, never venturing past the city limits without much protestation and yet here I am. By living in Orange, my husband Bryan fulfils his legislated obligation as a foreign-trained doctor to serve 10 years of medical service in an area of need

Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales. It lies 206 kilometres west of Sydney, at an altitude of 862 metres. Farming and mining are the two major agricultural sectors here as Orange boasts Cadia, the second largest open cut gold mine in Australia.

As you drive through the town, the bustling city centre is alive and festive. The shops and restaurants are always busy and the immaculate streets are lined with majestic, pink crab apple trees. Driving on, the burgeoning suburbs come into view and are filled with construction and development; new homes are being erected almost daily! This rapid development is clear evidence of a town that is progressing forward at a rapid rate and is quite clearly in economic boom. The wonderful thing about Orange is that in spite of this fast growth, it still manages to maintain it’s uniquely Australian country charm, with quaint boutique stores running just as successfully side by side with their chain store counterparts.

There is undoubtedly much work here for social upliftment and for government to get more involved in funding grass-roots type, small business development to encourage the celebrated Australian entrepreneurial spirit. Orange like many regional areas does, inevitably have its social issues and discrepancies and the bridge between the “haves” and the “have not’s” is a wide one but there seems to be a synchronised accord that binds these halves together in an incredibly harmonious way.

The interesting part of this experience for me has been that although this move was not necessarily out of choice for us, I have discovered incredible benefits to it. I find myself feeling very privileged to be watching this area move from strength to strength and to be even a small part of the regional Australian family.

The space that my children now have to run and play has taken them from couch-potatoes to energetic, adventurous little outdoor explorers; my husband is home in time for family dinners and the many inviting distractions of city life are nowhere to be seen or heard. The friendliness and openness of strangers has been an incredibly humbling experience for us all and I defy anyone to find a resident of Orange that is not proud of their city and its place in the heart of Australia.

Cherisse Khoury is a South African immigrant and has lived in Australia along with her husband Dr. Bryan Khoury, raising their two children Jude and Zara for the past 2 years. Cherisse completed a Bachelors degree in Journalism at the University of Johannesburg with majors in Economics and English. This was followed by a Post Graduate year in Management at Wits Business School. Cherisse has worked for Accenture South Africa as a senior business analyst; for L’Oreal Paris as a marketing brand manager as well as for Morgan Stanley London in the analytics and strategy division.