Sydney - Fewer people live in the Australian country town of
Wycheproof than there are words on its website.
But an innovative marketing programme is set to inject the plucky
farming community with new blood and ensure its survival, the town's
chief promoter said Friday.
The worst drought on record sent the headcount down to 750 before
Kylie Brown, who runs the post office, decided to fight back with a
range of incentives for families up for a change in lifestyle.
'It's a very friendly town,' Brown said. 'We have a fantastic
school here. It goes from prep to year 12 and is regularly in the top
10 state schools for their ... results.'
The population is now 815 - and could get another boost as the
town's latest wheeze gets about.
Wycheproof, in Victoria's north-west, is offering spacious
farmhouses for just a dollar a week in rent for those ready to commit
to live in them for 3 years.
Two properties are on offer, just a few minutes from the centre of
town, and 13 are in reserve if the campaign sparks a stampede.
The farmhouses become empty as drought-stricken landholders sell
up and their acreage is incorporated into neighboring farms.
As well as the basic one-dollar houses, smarter accommodation
available at discounted rents.
It's not as though Wycheproof is in the middle of nowhere. A
three-hour drive along the Calder Highway to Melbourne, Australia's
second biggest city, it's just a 90-minute hop to the bustling
gold-rush town of Bendigo.
The nearest cinema is only 30 kilometres away.
Wycheproof isn't mired in joblessness, either. Its unemployment
rate of 3.9 per cent is below the national average.
'Wycheproof offers so much and it's sad to see it die,' said Merv
Gaylor, 51, who runs the local sports teams. 'Hopefully, the
rent-a-farm will turn it all around.'
Galylor, who was born Wycheproof and has witnessed its fortunes
ebb and flow with the rain gauges on its farms, hopes the new
arrivals will at least counterbalance the departures.
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