Friday saw the region celebrate 20 years since the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Bega Valley Shire Council and the three Local Aboriginal Lands Councils.

The Bega District News also used the occasion to delve into the archive to see what else was making the news at the time.

Editor's note: The below articles and images contain references to Indigenous people who have since died.

Not surprisingly the MOU signing was front page news on June 15 - with John Dixon putting pen to paper and BJ Cruse sporting an impressive shock of hair!

The elders and representatives of the Bega, Eden and Merrimans Lands Councils were joined by BVSC general manager David Jesson and administrator Rod Calvert - as the council had been sacked and put into administration in 1999 "after failing to meet standards".

That same month, the council was informing the community of the latest developments in its Bega Valley sewerage project, with expressions of interest from contractors called for.

Tathra Oysters made the front page after winning championship awards for their produce - nothing's changed there!

Also in the news, The Oaks retirement village was opened, Anne Moore was appointed children's librarian in Bega, and Bega Cheese looked to expand its North Bega factory operations after a merger with Bonlac Foods and the New Zealand Dairy Board was approved.

Bega High School was also being redeveloped, with the first stage of construction of a gymnasium, changerooms and canteen. However, as the school is located on the site of Bega's first cemetery, gravesites discovered during the work had to be catalogued by visiting archaeologists.

As well as numerous Aboriginal artefacts found during the digging, also uncovered was a tennis court demolished 12 years prior.

Celebrating their birthdays in June 2001 were Kathy Dack (40), Tracey-Lee White (21) and Luke Keft (21), while a few new arrivals were also celebrated.

Sue and Mark Stoddard welcomed the arrival of Michael, Cheryl and John Rainger shared a photo of Callum, and Jared Nichols was a third boy for Annette and Mark.

Making their debut at the St John's Anglican Deb Ball were Chantelle Ballantyne, Richelle Davies, Robyn Cole, Naomi Hayman and Jamie Jamieson.

And in the social pages, Len and Wendy Slater shared a holiday snap of them meeting Sir Edmund Hilary in Queenstown NZ during a trip that was their reward for winning Ford Dealership of the Year.