Country Squire: Rob Ingram on life in a small country town called Dunedoo.

DUNEDOO LOCALS ARE NERVOUS AS THEIR BELOVED WHITE ROSE CAFE IS FOR SALE. WHOEVER BUYS IT HAS BIG SHOES — AND APPETITES — TO FILL SAYS ROB INGRAM.

THERE’S TENSION RIGHT here in the little town of Dunedoo, central western NSW. You can feel it in the air. No, it’s not like the hazardous PM2.5 fine particle pollution we’ve seen so much of. This is more like a panic reaction caused by fear. Now, many anxiety disorders are created by stress out of proportion to the impact of an event. But, in Dunedoo, it is the impact of the event that is the root cause of the tension. The town’s famous White Rose Café is up for sale.

Paris, of course, has the Eiffel Tower. New York has the Statue of Liberty. Rome has the Colosseum. And Agra has the Taj Mahal. All important in their own way. But Dunedoo has the White Rose Café.

The White Rose Café is one of the few remaining classic country cafés from the era when Greek cafés were the social focal point for rural communities and established the identity of country towns. There was nothing inherently Greek about them apart from the hard work and the hospitality. What the Greek cafés and milk bars were selling was the Americanisation of Australian eating and social habits.

This was the American Dream as depicted in the movies. Greek cafés brought Hollywood a little closer to home. They brought us the Coke, the spider soda drink, the exotic sundaes, milkshakes, Frosty Fruits and sherbet fountains, even the hamburger. They gave us the groovy sensory overload of Californian ‘streamline moderne’ and Art Deco architecture, of zinc and formica counters, chequered floors, marble-topped tables, and illuminated mirrored wall units. Dunedoo had two Greek cafés and milk bars — the White Rose Café and the Monterey. And then it just had the White Rose Café.

Dunedoo has been through the trauma of a White Rose Café sale before. In a land of endangered species, the classic old Greek café is fast facing extinction. But the last time the White Rose Café changed hands it was a godsend. Current owners Karleeta and Gerry Ryan restored it to its former glory. Both the interior design and the menu became charmingly retro. They understood the spirit of the Americanisation movement and they embroidered it with a fresh and local food philosophy. Gluten-free but certainly not glutton-free.

Take the Tallawang Wrap named after a local whistlestop. Slow-cooked pulled pork, spices, chilli-infused olive oil, onion relish, plum sauce and walnuts. That sort of thing.

Hell, they even understood Americanisation so well that when Elvis devotees pass through town on their way to the Parkes Elvis Festival, the White Rose Café puts on the fried peanut butter, banana, bacon and honey sandwich so loved by The King himself.

They also embraced the Greek ethic of hard work and hospitality. But the hospitality made the work harder. They fell victim to the expectation of anyone passing through Dunedoo that the White Rose Café would be open. You don’t drive the famous Route 66 between Chicago and LA without stopping at Springfield, Missouri, for a Choco Libre oatmeal stout at one of the craft beer haunts. And you don’t drive the Golden Highway through our Central West without stopping at the White Rose Café in Dunedoo for a passionfruit soda and lime syrup spider... and a Tallawang Wrap.

The legendary history and heritage and hospitality of the White Rose Café; the character, the fun, the mood and the menu, have made Karleeta and Gerry financially smug but physically very, very tired.

So the White Rose Café is on the market, and the townsfolk are very nervous. There’s talk of a selection committee of locals to approve the next custodian of our beloved landmark. If you think you know hot dogs, cheese fries, cherry cola, rockabilly, root beer, banana splits and blue suede shoes — and you have a lazy $250,000 in the back pocket of your Levi’s, hop in the queue.

...YOU DON’T DRIVE THE GOLDEN HIGHWAY THROUGH OUR CENTRAL WEST WITHOUT STOPPING AT THE WHITE ROSE CAFE IN DUNEDOO...