By Hamish Heard
TOUCHING stories about a blossoming friendship between Hobsons Bay residents and a drought-ravaged Mallee community emerged at a Municipal Association of Victoria state conference last week.
Buloke Shire Council mayor Reid Mather and Hobsons Bay councillor Peter Hemphill told councillors from throughout the state how the two communities had bonded since an alliance was struck last year.
They told the conference that the scheme had succeeded in bridging a gap in understanding between country and city dwellers.
Buloke Shire, a cropping district encompassing the townships of Charlton, Donald, Birchip, Sea Lake and Wycheproof, has had little to smile about since the drought sent the region’s economy and many of its residents into depression. But Cr Mather said the support and compassion shown by Hobsons Bay residents, schools, community groups, trader groups and the council had shown the Buloke residents that they were not alone.
He referred to the Altona Traders Association’s provision of Christmas hampers stuffed with goods sourced from Buloke traders to needy families in the shire.
“In this instance, an act of generosity not only supported needy families in Buloke, but generated economic gain to the Buloke community,” Cr Mather said.
Other acts of kindness towards the struggling community included accommodation providers and restaurants in Hobsons Bay banding together to provide holiday packages to Buloke families that hadn’t enjoyed a weekend away in years.
“The fridges were stacked with all the trimmings they had done without for the past year and Williamstown and Altona retaurants gave them free nights out,” Cr Hemphill said.
Cr Hemphill spoke of a Donald family whose house burnt down while they were in Melbourne caring for a newborn girl suffering serious health complications.
“The Lions Club of Altona was one of the many organisations and people that helped them get back on their feet,” he said.
Cr Hemphill also spoke of a Grade 6 Altona Primary School student who organised a school farm day and raised $1400 for Donald Primary School.
But the friendship has cut both ways, with traders groups in each of the municipalities banding together to exchange and promote business opportunities.
Schools have also developed exchange programs, giving Hobsons Bay students opportunities to experience life outside the big smoke. A group of Buloke musicians recently travelled to Melbourne to jam with their counterparts in Hobsons Bay and an Altona theatre company plans to extend its season with a series of performances in Charlton.
“Hobsons Bay promotes itself throughout Buloke and we know that already Buloke residents are visiting Hobsons Bay when they come to Melbourne,” Cr Hemphill said.
Cr Mather said the relationship between the two communities had taken on a life of its own since the two councils signed a memorandum of understanding early last year.
“Both (Cr) Peter (Hemphill) and I were amazed by the things going on between the two communities that we were not even aware of,” Cr Mather said.
“It’s this dynamic that makes the relationship so strong and which I am sure will see it continue to grow in strength into the future.”
