Mayor: We will rise again
AWimmera mayor has pointed to the cancellation of the Mallee Machinery Field Days as a key reason the community must support events when they return.
Yarriambiack Shire Council mayor Graeme Massey said the resilience and solidarity of Wimmera-mallee residents would aid the resurgence of events when COVID-19 lockdowns ended.
His comments came after field days organisers made the ‘tough call’ early last week to cancel the August 4 and 5 agricultural showcase in Speed due to Victoria’s fifth COVID-19 lockdown.
“I have every confidence the community will come along and support events in the shire when they can go ahead again,” Cr Massey said.
“Our communities are so strong and I know they will rise up and support revival of events – that goes without saying.
“It is a massive disappointment of the cancellation of the field days and the way we’re going at the moment, you can’t plan too far ahead with the suddenness of lockdowns.”
Cr Massey said towns including Speed, Patchewollock, Hopetoun and Ouyen would miss out on a major influx in tourism due to the event’s cancellation.
“This event is certainly one of the largest in our shire. The publicity the smaller towns get through this event is enormous,” he said.
“There is a great deal of people who come into the northern part of our shire who book out accommodation and order meals at cafes and hotels, which won’t happen this year.
“People would also travel through our shire and neighbouring municipalities, camping along the way and visiting attractions during the week of the event.”
Cr Massey said he was also concerned about the effect the cancellation would have on schools, sporting clubs and other groups that relied on
the field days as a fundraising stream. “So many volunteer groups, sporting groups, schools and kindergartens rely on the field days for their income for the year. They do the catering and car parking and other essential jobs to keep the event going,” he said.
“Their loss of income is enormous because it means for two years now, they can’t source funds while they still have commitments to pay such as insurances and their lease arrangements.”
The field days and Warracknabeal’s annual Easter festival Y-fest are among Yarriambiack events cancelled this year due to the pandemic.
Cr Massey said he hoped other
big-scale events in the shire scheduled for later this year could proceed despite the uncertainty of COVID-19 lockdowns.
“Major events like the Patchewollock Music Festival and Murtoa’s Big Weekend, both in October, will have to rely on certainty if they are to go ahead due to the shear amount of planning that goes into them,” he said.
“The government seems to be using lockdowns as its first weapon of choice to suppress the virus.
“Some people might not agree with that method, but it’s what we have to live with.”