A pre-Christmas plan to bring local music and locally made food and wine to Buchan may have suffered a flooding set-back but will proceed, nonetheless.
The first event will be held this Saturday, with musician Rachel Jameson playing at the Buchan Motel on the hill above town.
Locals Kirstie and Paul Pearce took over the lease of the Buchan Motel on December 1 and Kirstie came up with the idea to create a Hilltop Summer Series, live music for three weekends in a row in January.
The second weekend, January 13, features Mitch and Pete, and the third on January 20 local Buchan duo Raven and the Dove.
Kirstie hopes the events will go some way to relieve the sadness and emotional drain of the recent flash flood.
Being on the northern hill of the Buchan township, the Boxing Day flash flood created a deluge with water streaming down the hill, causing one of the motel rooms to suffer flood damage and the driveway to erode from the rushing water.
“It was literally like a river,” Kirstie said.
“I think we just went into survival mode, there were people in the room that flooded who helped get the water out, they were amazing.”
In order to overcome the tourism hole the closure of the Buchan Caves Reserve will create, the Buchan Business and Tourist Association met on December 30 to discuss the flood impact and agreed to collaborate to keep tourists coming to town.
Accommodation options are plentiful and include Cottage on Main, the Buchan Motel, The River Retreat, Buchan Log Cabins and more, as well as those further out including a tiny home, Karoonda Park and the Stockman’s Camp.
The group has requested State and local governments support temporary play equipment in the town including a water park in the John Flynn Memorial Park and a temporary pump track for bike riders.
“I feel like we need to create the meaning of stay and play,” Kirstie said.
“People can stay here at Buchan in all the peace and tranquillity we have to offer, and travel to all sorts of places like Lakes Entrance, which is a really popular, busy spot.
“There are so many things to do around here, you can go and see The Junction, also known as Balley Hooley, where the Buchan River meets the Snowy River.
“There’s Little River Gorge, the deepest gorge in Victoria, there’s a koala colony at Butchers Ridge, the Rocky Knob is an incredible sight too, then there’s Gelantipy and Suggan Buggan.
“The caves may be closed but the Buchan Valley remains open with so many beautiful places to visit.”
