WHEN IN DROUGHT

How drought-affected communities are welcoming tourists.

RURAL AND REMOTE AUSTRALIA is synonymous with idyllic LANDSCAPES and knockabout CHARACTERS, but both suffer under the INFLUENCE of drought. As rain continues to ELUDE MANY PARTS of the country, drought-affected COMMUNITIES are rolling out the welcome mat.

THERE’S A GENTLEMAN FROM BRIM, a small town in rural Victoria, who stands a mighty 30 metres tall. And he also stands as a symbol of resilience as his community continues to battle the harsh Australian drought. His name? It probably wouldn’t be too hard to find out. The large-scale portrait was completed on the town’s decommissioned grain silos in 2016 and although the names of the four featured characters were withheld at first, it’s not difficult to identify a face among a population of fewer than 200 people. Yet the anonymity seems apt. With his head bowed, eyes closed and, it seems, the weight of natural disaster on his shoulders, this farmer could be any number of Brim locals struggling without rain. The work of Brisbane artist Guido van Helten, the mural was the first on what is now the Silo Art Trail, an al fresco gallery linking Brim with neighbouring towns – Lascelles, Patchewollock, Rosebery, Rupanyup and Sheep Hills – in the Wimmera Mallee. The 200-kilometre stretch, starting about 300 kilometres north-west of Melbourne in Rupanyup, has stimulated visitor interest in an area previously unsung. The tourist surge has been a positive for both business and morale in the area, and the boost is felt most acutely during times of drought. Incidentally, the region has become a perfect case study for drought-driven tourism. Rainfall deficiencies persist across eastern Australia, parts of Central Australia, and some areas of Western Australia. New South Wales has been worst affected. At the time of writing, almost the entire state is in drought with more than 30 per cent labelled ‘intense’, according to the Department of Primary Industries. But drought is a reoccurring theme

Isolated towns like Barcaldine in Central West Queensland have been severely affected by drought; it’s home to the Heritage-listed Tree of Knowledge.

FROM TOP: Bella Baillie at a station outside Hughenden – the Baillie family have been helped through drought by the charity Outback Futures, which assists communities affected by drought; This water tank on a farm near Aramac, Queensland, has seen better days. OPPOSITE: A tree in the parched surrounds of Aramac at dawn.