Back Roads: June 24

Tonight on Back Roads Heather Ewart is visiting the tree-change town of Tolmie, in Victoria’s High Country.

In years gone by it was known as a hideaway for bushrangers, only a stone’s throw from the infamous Stringybark Creek ambush where Ned Kelly and his gang murdered three police officers.
These days, it’s a hideaway for a wide range of people. With its proximity to Mansfield, Tolmie has become a popular tree-change destination.

At first glance, you might think not much happens in this little place. There’s no main street, no shops, no general store, not even a post office. But scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find this is no tumbleweed town.

For 133 years Tolmie’s held an annual old-fashioned Sports Day that attracts visitors in their thousands. The crowd favourite is the dog jump, closely followed by the woodchop, the novelty horse events and the highly competitive gumboot toss.

More than a hundred local volunteers pitch in to help keep this tradition alive. But their community mindedness isn’t restricted to one day of the year.

Tolmie residents readily reach out to each other in tough times or when things need to get done. And in a town where you can’t just pop down to the local coffee shop or the post office for a chat, they’re busy making their own fun.

A hundred and fifty years later the bushrangers are long gone but you can still find blokes with spectacular beards roaming around in the bush. But these days they’re escaping the big smoke, not the long hand of the law.

If Heather’s lucky, they might even let her join their ‘gang’!

8pm tonight on ABC.