By now many people will have noticed that there are new people in the Glen Innes Newsagency, so let us tell you a bit more about Doug and Janette Forsyth who took over the business in mid-April. The first thing to know about the Forsyths is that they are not really new to Glen Innes nor to the newsagency business.
Doug and Janette have loved this region for a very long time and made plans to move to this area long ago, when they bought a house just outside Glen Innes.
As for experience as newsagents – Doug has been selling papers since he was 10 years old. His parents had newsagencies and Doug loved to help in the shop, getting more involved as he got older. “I’ve been in the news business for over 50 years and still love it” he said.
Both Janette and Doug grew up in Brisbane and held corporate management roles before taking on a newsagency together. They had been married for less than 12 months when they decided to take the leap and uproot their work and personal lives and move down to Blackheath in the Blue Mountains to work together in their own newsagency. Happily the move was a success! They have operated that business together for over thirteen years.
Between them, Doug and Janette have six children, four in Brisbane, one in the UK, one in Melbourne, and 13 grandchildren. Moving to Glen Innes has been an opportunity to get comfortably closer to Brisbane where most of their children and grandchildren live.
Doug said that they are “looking forward to being here for the long haul” eventually spending their retirement here. He added “This is not a short-term thing.” Not that there is talk of retirement yet. Janette said they are excited about the new business and keen to try some ideas, which they hope the Glen Innes community will enjoy too.
Both Janette and Doug said that they had been blown away by the “amazing, wonderful welcome” that they have received here. They both love the climate in Glen Innes and find the town atmosphere quite unique. Many people have come into their shop and introduced themselves, several of whom have also moved here in recent years. Janette has heard the same refrain over and over: “Everyone says they love it here because it is such a friendly town.”
The newsagency in Glen Innes is significantly busier than Blackheath, partly because the population here is larger. The demographics are different too: most of the customers in Blackheath were tourists, and on a per capita basis more of the residences there were AirBnBs. Here the business is solidly based on local support.
When asked where they would take their visitors to Glen Innes – quite a challenging question given that they have not been here for a full month yet – they immediately replied “national parks and fishing spots” with family and friends. They have already welcomed family members. Janette’s sister Sonya has been assisting in the shop while their father has been coordinating the home front, cooking and cleaning “looking after his girls”.
There are more visitors on the way. A delighted Janette told the Glen Innes News “Some of our grandkids have already booked themselves in. They are keen to come in the school holidays and love helping in the shop”. Sounds a bit like history repeating itself…
