It's a pretty town, semi-rural & quite self contained. It is renowned for the Avenue of Honour & apple orchards.
Our shops range from stock feed & farm supplies, horse riding gear to a surf shop & 'Target Country'.
We have everything you need in a town - hospital, train station, public pool, schools, kinder, cemetary, churches to name just a few & now we even have Maccas, KFC & Aldi.
Since the freeway bypass was put in, the Main St has become much quieter. Unless you actually exit the freeway you can drive right past on your way to Ballarat.
I love living here. It's not too far from the city & has what we need to work & raise our family. We've been here 16 years & will probably never be regarded as true 'locals' but we have made great friends & have family nearby.
But today I saw the strength of the community as we gathered to honour a man who was a pillar of this community. Pete's funeral was a huge event in the town, someone commented it was Bacchus Marsh's equivalent to a state funeral. Hundreds of people gathered in the town hall to pay tribute to a man who had given so much to protect & serve his community. Old locals, CFA members & police, bus drivers, staff from the hospital, footy club people stood shoulder to shoulder to pay tribute to him. And these same people will rally around his family with ongoing support.
Gone but never forgotten.
It's times like these that your really do get a sense of community that can only be felt in a small town (I grew up in Myrtleford, so I know exactly what you mean). I'm sure Pete would have been very chuffed looking down at all the locals gathered to remember and celebrate his life. RIP.
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