Some big news stories broke around the North West in 2019 but none bigger than these.
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These are the stories that the readers of The Northern Daily Leader clicked in to on our website the most throughout the year.
Number one
The headline: Royal commission finds Barnaby Joyce 'ignored the law'
The first paragraph: Barnaby Joyce's actions as water minister have been singled out and savaged in the royal commission into the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the report suggesting he ignored the law.
Number two
The headline: Long service leave to be halved for new teachers, nurses and police
The first paragraph: New teachers, nurses, council employees and police officers will all have their long service leave effectively halved, if the NSW government passes an upcoming bill.
Number three
The headline: Tamworth dentist who died in head-on was ex-boyfriend of murdered woman
The first paragraph: Tamworth dentist Dr Harshwardhan Narde has been named as the man behind the wheel of Monday night's fiery fatal north of Willow Tree.
Number four
The headline: Two horses dead, jockeys hospitalised in dramatic race day fall
The first paragraph: A dramatic fall at the Country Championships saw four jockeys hospitalised and two horses died.
Number five
The headline: Tributes flow as TAS headmaster dies in fiery crash on Waterfall Way
The first paragraph: The Armidale School (TAS) principal Murray Guest has died, after a car accident on Tuesday morning.
Number six
The headline: Family at hospital bedside of police officers shot in Glen Innes
The first paragraph: Family are by the bedside of the two Glen Innes police officers in a Gold Coast hospital following Friday night's shooting.
Number seven
The headline: Motorcyclist dies after colliding with a kangaroo on the highway
The first paragraph: Police have confirmed a young man died in a motorcycle crash near Bendemeer on Sunday morning.
Number eight
The headline: Welcome to the world: Babies born in the North West
The first paragraph: Say hello to some of the region's newest arrivals.
Number nine
The headline: Tamworth pub owner to fight indecency and intimidation charges
The first paragraph: The licensee of a Tamworth hotel will fight allegations he influenced a witness after allegedly allowing indecency at the venue.
Number 10
The headline: Second fatal crash in four days claims woman's life
The first paragraph: A woman has been killed and another driver has a broken leg after a second deadly crash in just four days on the New England Highway, north of Tamworth.
Number 11
The headline: Police allege Ebor man lit fire to protect cannabis crop
The first paragraph: Detectives will allege an Ebor man intentionally lit a fire to protect a cannabis crop, before it spiralled out of control on Friday and threatened homes in Ebor.
Number 12
The headline: Dad's desperate plea to have son banned from entering Coledale
The first paragraph: A man with a history of violence and drugs has been banned from entering Coledale in Tamworth.
Number 13
The headline: 'Ice castle closed for good', police claim as ninth target arrested
The first paragraph: Police claim the Tamworth "ice castle" has "been closed for business", with eight men and women facing more than 100 drug and firearm charges after officers smashed the alleged crime ring.
Number 14
The headline: 60-year-old man charged with murder after woman and boy killed in blaze
The first paragraph: A man has been charged with the murder of a woman and a young boy after this morning's deadly housefire.
Number 15
The headline: Fires rage, schools closed as crews brace for the worst again
The first paragraph: Local firefighters are bracing for another horror day on firegrounds across the New England and beyond as trying conditions continue for another day.
Number 16
The headline: Horror on highway: two dead, two injured in crash
The first paragraph: Specialist crash investigators are trying to piece together the moments before a horrific accident near Walcha that claimed two lives and saw two others airlifted to hospital.
Number 17
The headline: Man charged after Walcha crash that saved two lives
The first paragraph: A man has been charged in relation to a single-vehicle crash that claimed two lives near Walcha in January.
Number 18
The headline: School doing it everything it can to support students after shock death
The first paragraph: Tributes are continuing to flow for popular Armidale principal Murray Guest as the school rallies to support staff and students in the wake of his shock death.
Number 19
The headline: Driver fighting for life in hospital after horror fatal head-on
The first paragraph: One man is dead and two others are in hospital after a horror start to the Easter long weekend on local roads.
Number 20
The headline: Several more arrests made as ice castle dismantled by police
The first paragraph: Police have made a further three arrests as investigations into the supply of methylamphetamine and illegal firearms in Tamworth continue.
