Jump in with Jacob 12 February

I love Home Hill.

I’ve lived here for the last, what… 10 months now? And can wholeheartedly say that I’ve not regretted a single second.

But what I’ve come to realise is that, according to most locals, it’s a shell of what it once was—and the signs were staring me right in the face the whole time.

The boarded-up shops are perhaps most telling. Everyone I talk to says that where these barren shopfronts on Main Street now lie, businesses used to bustle. Streets full. Lines out the door.

Then, naturally, I ask them, “What happened?”

That’s where answers begin to diverge, and breed more questions.

Does this business drop-off correlate with the issues pertaining to volunteering that I discussed last week? Or do they merely coincide? Can community spirit thrive in any meaningful sense if the local business sphere is compromised?

I think they go hand in hand. As good as Home Hill is in its current form, country towns need economies to sustain themselves both financially and socially.

But what do I know? I’m no local.

So, as I embark on this quest to uncover the why—and potential antidotes—please do get in touch with any helpful information or observations.

And on that note, if you have any story you think deserves to be told in our paper, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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