Celebrations of the centenary of Australia's first official airmail run -- from Lismore to Tenterfield via Casino -- were thwarted to some extent last year by Covid but some bushfire recovery grant funding has been put aside for this unique commemoration of the historic event.

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There is a purchasing budget of $3000, with a maximum of $600 for any one work. Entries will be judged by Helen Grant, editor of Australian Art Monthly. Peter Harris, the force behind the Mail Trail project, will act as acquisition adviser.

Mr Harris said selected works will form a small travelling exhibition with stops along the mail trail. The actual form of the exhibition is still being developed.

The Mail Trail is the theme of the exhibition. In pre-email days the physical mail was such a big part of people's lives that the theme can be interpreted in very many ways, Mr Harris said.

"It could be of a letter box, children writing to grandma, copperplate writing, anything like that," he said.

Similarly there's a wide scope in eligible media, which may include painting, collage, mixed media, printmaking, drawing, intarsia and metal but not photography and free-standing sculpture. More information for entrants is available from the studio.

The exhibition opens at the Artists' Collective Studio gallery in Tenterfield on June 26. Works not selected or priced above $600 will be available for sale to the public. Mr Harris feels there's a strong market for the heritage tourism genre.

Once they've completed their tour Mr Harris hopes to see the acquired artworks dispersed to locations that featured on that first mail run, such as the post office and railway station.

"It's a great topic," he said.

Other activities planned for the commemoration include the June 26 premiere at the Tenterfield School of Arts of the documentary Per Aerial Mail that Mr Harris created around the re-enactment. There will be three screenings of the 45-minute film throughout the day, with local students invited to enjoy some of their local history.

There will also be a paper plane competition (so start practising now) and a screening of the film Paper Planes.

Mr Harris said the mail trail linking Lismore, Casino and Tenterfield is now becoming a permanent attraction for tourists and he hopes each year there will be a focus on a different aspect of the themes that link the towns, like timber, gold and trade in addition to the vital mail route.

"It's inspiration for the three towns to connect," he said.