AS Huntly expands, and with a new train station possibly on the way, the days of Goornong being just another through-town on a highway could be a thing of the past.
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But with more people considering the town as a low-cost alternative to the Bendigo suburbs, ensuring services keep up has become a priority.
Phil Nicholas, who has run the Goornong General Store with his family for six years, said the main street was still in a relatively poor state, particularly the edges of the road, while heavy vehicle traffic continued to increase.
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“The footpaths around here are a disgrace. You can't ride a mobility scooter on them, they need to ride on the road a lot of the time,” he said.
“There needs to be display signs that say what's actually in the town.
“It would tell people coming through the town what's actually here, they might stop and say 'oh i might have a look at that'. There’s more here than you might think.”
Residents voiced their frustration at poorly-coordinated bus services, which they believed made it difficult for people to make the return trip to Bendigo or Elmore on the same day.
The reopening of the Goornong Railway Station – slated for construction from 2019 and completion in 2021 under a Labor promise – was a priority for many in the town.
Like most towns north of Bendigo, silos dominate the main street of Goornong. With silo art at Rochester to the north, and silo art planned for Colbinabbin to the east, Goornong’s silos – still operational – could remain the last bare structures in the region.
Sue Nicholas had a novel idea for them, however.
“Other towns have silo projects but ours are still operational, so I think having regular light shows on them would be something different for Goornong,” she said.
“It would be a real point of difference for our town.”
On the eastern fringe of the town, the more modern GE Silos will celebrate its 40 years in business this Saturday after it was founded in a shearing shed, now run by the founder’s son and his wife.
The celebrations will start at 12 noon.