Politics & Council
19 June, 2024
PERSPECTIVE: A weekend of birthday buzz
By CR WENDY MURPHY On the King’s Birthday long weekend, I did a bit of driving and it was good to see what was happening in Loddon. People, people everywhere enjoying what Loddon has to offer without camouflage clothing or gun dogs required. With...
By CR WENDY MURPHY
On the King’s Birthday long weekend, I did a bit of driving and it was good to see what was
happening in Loddon. People, people everywhere enjoying what Loddon has to offer without
camouflage clothing or gun dogs required.
With no Loddon Valley football, my son filled in for Wedderburn U17s on Saturday morning which
meant a trip up to Nullawil. On the way home we stopped in at Skinner’s Flat Reservoir to have a
look. There were quite a few campers taking in the quiet setting with people walking the streets of
Wedderburn as we drove through.
Prospectors were trying their luck around the bush of Inglewood. The gold is still out there, with a
half gram speck being found by my husband, (earning his keep). Even if going home empty handed,
there’s still the historic sites and plants and animals to observe. There were plenty of visitors in
Inglewood topping up on groceries or grabbing a bite to eat while wandering the streets.
Bridgewater was buzzing with barely a parking spot along the main street or side streets. Taking the
opportunity to take my dogs for a walk along the river, the chorus of corellas was continuous and
the damage to trees very evident. Listening to a bird expert on the radio on Thursday, he suggested
the birds are probably finding the conditions favourable and hanging around but they will move on.
Being very clever and quick learners, they are inquisitive and do get into all sorts of things. Although
being in high numbers at Bridgewater they haven’t been causing the destruction at the Kingower
Cricket Ground like they do during summer.
The camp ground at the Newbridge Recreation Reserve was popular with many caravans and
campervans set up. The store was also a popular place for people to be with parking spots scarce.
Guruyah State Park was crawling with visitors. The camp ground was full. Some campers were
beginning to pack up, whilst others seemed in no hurry to move on. The bottom picnic area had
families preparing to walk one of the many tracks and a family was just returning to the top car park
after visiting the ‘caves’.
A drive out to Jarklin saw plenty of large farm machinery moving around and sheep being bought in
as lamb marking begins. Always something to be doing on the farm to keep people fed and clothed.
Speaking with a few business owners over the past month or so, most are doing OK, with trade
mostly steady but not over busy. Accommodation providers are rarely empty, but some are saying
they aren’t seeing too many visitors coming to stay longer than a day or two, mostly just passing
through on their way to somewhere else, although long weekends are popular. Others have
accommodation booked out by railway workers and other contractors. Food suppliers are seeing
people still spending money on takeaway and eat-in food and drink options.
Council has produced several short videos of things to see and do in Loddon under the banner of
Visit Loddon Valley, but there have been other independent productions by outside businesses. One
such short video on Inglewood was produced by Zeller, a payment terminal supplier, now viewable
on Youtube. An opportunistic chat between a Zeller employee and an Inglewood business owner
who uses their terminal grew into a fantastic story now shared to the world.
Loddon certainly has a lot to offer and who knows, some of these visitors may decide to become
residents and join our welcoming community of communities.