Why we need towns like Murrayville

In the Mallee, we know how critical our farming communities are. Murrayville might have a population of just 280 people, but the people punch above their weight in terms of ingenuity, community spirit and, perhaps most importantly from a government perspective, their massive contribution to food security and the national economy.

The point is, we need Murrayville. We need dryland farming. And it’s in everyone’s interests that our wheat-belt towns – from the biggest to the smallest – remain strong and viable. Because where would we be without wheat and barley? Hungry and sober, that’s where.

We can’t control the weather or global commodity prices, but what we can control, as a state and a nation, is the standard of infrastructure in our small towns. Sports infrastructure is an especially good place to start given sport is the heartbeat of so many Mallee towns.

All our smallest towns deserve attention and investment, but right now I think you’d be hard pressed to find a town more deserving than Murrayville. Its position right on the Victorian-SA border means it was subjected to the most brutal iterations of the SA border closures in 2020.

Understandably, there was a sense of foreboding on Thursday night as the Premier announced another snap lockdown. It was a demoralising and triggering moment for a community that had already been through so much. But you just can’t keep a good town down.

At footy training, the players and supporters made the best of it. The reserves played on, completing their training session in driving, sideways rain. Supporters staffed the busy bar. And Lambros the local “Greek legend” cooked up a feast of the best yiros in the country.

If there’s a better example of MalleeTough, I’ve yet to see it. Go the Bulldogs, and long live Murrayville.