ON THE MOVE: MYRTLEFORD

IN AN ALPINE VALLEY WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET, NESTLES A SMALL TOWN WITH A BIG HEART AND LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY.

A visit to charming Myrtleford in Victoria, reveals its proud Italian heritage and friendly atmosphere.

MYRTLEFORD BASKS IN the stunning Ovens Valley in north-east Victoria, where the Ovens and Buffalo Rivers meet at the foot of the Buffalo range. This small town is the thriving commercial hub of the Alpine Shire and, with the Mount Buffalo massif as the dramatic and often snow-capped backdrop, it’s a gateway to the Alpine National Park and the ski resorts at Falls Creek and Mount Hotham. It’s also in the heart of a year-round tourist destination. Today it has a population of just over 3000 people. The region celebrates a rich Italian heritage as seen in various cultural festivals, produce and cuisine: from the 1920s the first wave of Italian migrants arrived and established themselves in tobacco growing, followed by a second wave after World War II. Today the distinctive old drying kilns dotted around the fertile river flats are testament to the bygone tobacco industry, which ceased in 2006; however, many of the old kilns have now been resurrected to serve a new purpose, some as luxury accommodation, cafés and other boutique businesses. The valley’s main agricultural industries include hops, timber plantations, beef and dairy cattle, walnuts and chestnuts, olives, cherries and vineyards. Born and bred in the Myrtleford area, Franca Norris says that when her father Angelo Bonacci came to the region, he felt immediately at home. “It reminded him of his home in the Calabrian mountains where he was born,” Franca says. She is also coordinator of Myrtleford Farmers Market and with her father, a lifelong wild mushroom forager, she has been a food guide for Maeve O’meara’s SBS TV series Food Safari Earth. The pair also run wild mushroom foraging tours during the town’s Italian food festivals. “My dad has been foraging here for 60 years and food guiding is so lovely when you’re proud of your home area,” Franca says. Vivek Sharma, who owns the popular Coffee Chakra, was born in India but came to Myrtleford with his wife Leonie in 2010. Since then they have welcomed two daughters. Vivek is still discovering how close-knit this community is. “My first impression of the town was that it was beautiful, and I love it because it’s a liveable town, and now I love it more than ever because of the community,” he says. “There’s a very strong community: when something happens the town wakes up to support you. I have not seen another town like that. When you have kids, you think, ‘this is a kid-raising town’!”> For more information, go to visitmyrtleford.com.au

CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE Cycling the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail; Red Ramia offers exotic bric-a-brac; the Ovens River; Sarah Spiker and Anna Chambers at The Village Trader; the town has a mid-century country village atmosphere; tea at Café Fez; chestnuts; Il Secondo, sister store of The Village Trader. FACING PAGE The old tobacco kilns pay homage to the area’s history.

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Lupo’s Café, located in a restored tobacco kiln, with loft accommodation; Coffee Chakra roasts beans on the premises; Panoramia Villas have a view that lives up to the name; a vineyard of cool-climate grapes at Gapsted Wines; unrestored tobacco kilns. CENTRE Vivek Sharma, proprietor of Coffee Chakra, is a proud resident of this close-knit community. FACING PAGE This vista displays the seasonal foliage of the Ovens Valley.