But, like so many other local businesses that have shut down or iconic products that have disappeared from our shelves, it could be a case of too little too late.

Hope remains for Castlemaine Rock with the Barnes family cautiously optimistic another company may swoop in to save them and see them produce their tinned-canned treats once more.

But local communities need to be making efforts to support these popular, historic and quintessential businesses before they close – not when they are on their death beds and we are shocked by the news.

Would you miss Myer if it closed? The 118-year-old business is much-maligned in Bendigo but if the original store was closed down there would surely be an outcry from the local community. And rightly so, it is a part of Bendigo’s history.

If the ever-popular fried treat the Chiko Roll disappeared from fryers across the nation, it would be upsetting. When Wagga Wagga tried to claim the Chiko Roll as it’s own in 2016, Bendigo’s residents went into bat – proudly claiming the Chiko Roll as ours and no one else’s.

Earlier in the year, when Eaglehawk’s Star Cinema faced potential closure, more than $70,000 was raised through a campaign by the cinema with supporters buying tickets and memberships or donating to the cause.

When Woolworths decided to stop stocking Kooka’s Country Cookies, outcry from avid fans followed. Kooka’s responded by broadening its market which resulted in the Donald biscuit manufacturer expanding to a new and larger facility and employing 11 more staff.

So be pro-active about your favourite local businesses. Take a minute and think about the local products and businesses that you might miss if they were closed down or discontinued.

Keep those iconic products and businesses in your mind, as well as your heart, and support them before they shut up shop, not when it’s too late.

– Chris Pedler, journalist

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