Been roaming around the New England ranges and during the downpour yesterday I stopped in Emmaville looking for some supplies. The local grocery store had closed down but the news agent is open a few hours a day and sells a few basics. Spuds and pumkin, bread and milk - but most of the shelves are bare - can't compete with most of the residents working and shopping in Glen Innes, 50 klms away. Donna, the lady at this shop said her grandparents, then her parents had run the store but her own kids (sensibly) weren't interested in carrying it on, and she would love to sell up and hit the road, but of course can't.
Donna and her husband also manage the local caravan park which is owned by Parks & Wildlife? it was going to be closed but they offered to run it so as to at least bring some business to the town. Lovely little spot on solid mud free grass, water, rain water for drinking, well kept amenities and kangaroos roaming in the evenings. Two pubs in walking distance, and next to the council swimming pool. Unpowered site - $15 per night or $25 with power and a whopping $150 per week! So peaceful ..... would be a great spot for a meetup.
Sounds like our kind of town. There are so many like it as everything becomes more & more centralized, a real pity but inevitable. Good post, thanks for the info.
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Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
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We're heading south in a few weeks and Emmaville sounds great.
I remember back in the 50"s when the infamous "Emmaville Tiger" was on the loose and terrifying townspeople. Rumour had it that a tiger had escaped from a visiting circus and has taken a few sheep.
Travel a bit further west to where the man threw the stone across the river at Walgett and see some real towns in trouble! I was going to rabbit on about the American Dollar ruling us, but all I ask is go to your local supermarket and look at the lobsters. Would you like an, Australian Crayfish, cost you an airfare to China, plus hotel, plus another $500 Aussie dollars for the meal, All from the land of Aus, bon appetite!
Yes, LL, can't get lobster anymore. I remember Mum & Dad said when they were travelling around Tassie they could buy a lobster at roadside stalls. Not any more at least not at pensioner prices. Sadly, I wonder how long it will be before we can buy any local grown foods. There was an article the other day about the Chinese buying fruit & vegies from Australia through an online chinese company. It said the Chinese trusted food from Australia rather than foods grown in their own country.
Small towns dying are a natural progression of the business model we live in. More of the pie to less of the people. Nobody seemed to learn from the Lehmann Bros. collapse. Still most cannot see when looking at Brexit, Trump, Greece vs Germany and a half dozen other glaring international alarm bells. Only world war will change the status and its unlikely there will be any winners this time. Enjoy the little towns.
We're heading south in a few weeks and Emmaville sounds great. I remember back in the 50"s when the infamous "Emmaville Tiger" was on the loose and terrifying townspeople. Rumour had it that a tiger had escaped from a visiting circus and has taken a few sheep.
Good Luck.
Yes, I remember the story, but wasn't it a panther? And there's supposedly been a few sightings over the years, but it's probably the only claim to fame the locals have, so ...
When will small towns learn that because of decades of ripping off the tourist (especially those with a caravan), that they did themselves out of business.
The modern caravan has everything that a caravan park can offer, built in. This means we don't need them any more.
Why would I be prepared to pay $15 a night to get nothing. I don't need your uneven sardine sized sites. Oz is a big country. I don't need your run down 30 year old toilets and showers. If van parks would visit a modern roadside rest area they would rightly feel ashamed. I don't need your inconsistent power and mineral laden bore water. I have free solar and can buy awesome quality water from most information centres. I don't need your filthy expensive washing machines. I carry my own
I already have all that you can offer, built into my own van.
Every small town that perpetuates the system of charging tourists to stop will ultimately meet the same fate, a main street with lots of For Sale and For Lease stickers on the windows. Usually the final death knell and the last business to close is the one that raped the tourists so that there was little left for the shops, the caravan park.
Every small town I've seen that changes their mindset and embraces the system of "please stop here for free", is thriving and prosperous. If I'm not putting $10 to $60 a night into some run down van park or poorly maintained Government Park system I can spend a sizable portion of that in the shops in your town.
In Melbourne you can rent a brand new 25 square house for $45 a night. Why would I want to spend that and more for a half square piece of dirt.
Remember that 50 years ago the average farm was 500 acres and had 2 or 3 families working it. Now farms are 10,000 acres+ and have one man and a machine. Locals can no longer sustain any small town.
If you can't encourage me to stop a while in your town and spend my money in your shops, I can always drive on a little further to where there are plenty of towns that do want my patronage.
Wild1/Jen, sounds like a great relaxing, inexpensive place to have a meet/link-up...Hylife, being 'fully self-contained' can park outside..undoubtedly make a great 'Entertainments Officer' however....no doubt..life would be non stop fun at the 'link up' in this 'Fairy Dairyland'......
Jen,after your initial post it went straight onto our bucket list....not enough Emmaville's in Oz today....see them while we still can ...good luck....Hoo Roo
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Yes, I think that the caravan parks have little to do with the death of country towns, morso the big end of town, ie suoermarkets, which for economic reasons, bypass small towns...the biggest attack on them is now the Internet and online shopping.
if we think that it is bad now, wait until the likes of AMAZON hits the scene...our poor country cousins are facing the death knell unless a sudden change occurs, which is likely I am afraid.
Hi Will put this one in the book as you are right if we don`t support these towns when we can then there won`t be any as we are not big free campers,but don`t mind paying for good clean amenities and a pleasant spot to stay,,
don't hold back Hylife 
how do you REALLY feel?
