My home town, and also the home town of Deejah, size_of_a_p'nut, mustard n custard and icefire. Main street, town hall, 10 schools and pre schools, McDonald's, 10,000 people. Quiet, out-of-the-way, easy to get through.
In other words, a hole.
It still has its moments. Like when student groups go overseas - pretty much everyone hears about that. Or the Golden Gateway Festival, in the last weeks of October. Everyone knows about that. Sometimes, we even sweat when bushfires get too close for comfort, or when bomb threats are made.
Still, it is surrounded by picturesque scenery, such as Langi Ghiran ('sleeping lady'), the Grampians and the Challicum Hills wind farm. It is, however, 1 hour away from a city and 2 1/2 hours away from a capital city, and on a major highway. Which makes it a nice rest stop for business travellers.
Located between Adelaide and Melbourne in south-eastern Australia, it is the only town in Australia to be settled by Chinese people. It was created during the gold rush in the 1850s and 60s. Every so often, a group of Chinese students from all sorts of cities visit here, and every three years we send a group over there. I went on the 2001 trip, and it was quite enjoyable.
It's not such a bad place after all.