Anger at the closure of the most popular tourist attractions in Nelson over the past three years has sparked a movement hoping to cut through bureaucracy that the founders say is killing the small Victorian town.
Nelson, on the Glenelg River three kilometres east of the South Australian border, is popular for fishing and boating.
The town was was particularly hard hit by SA’s COVID-19 border restrictions and Victorian lockdowns, which prevented tourists from visiting the area.
The Nelson Kiosk was a hub for the town during the hard times of 2020 and 2021, but it closed in August, with the lessees, Paul Singleton and Andrea Winfield, saying they were tired after running the business seven days a week and frustrated at the lack of maintenance to the almost 70-year-old building.
The Nelson Kiosk and the Nelson Hotel lie on the banks of the Glenelg River. (ABC South East SA: Eugene Boisvert)
Both the kiosk and a boat hire business that closed in 2021 were based on crown land administered by the Nelson Public Reserves Committee of Management on behalf of the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).
Nelson holiday home owner Kaz Oldaker said the kiosk was more than just a place to get hot food, fishing gear, or mail.
“Particularly during the COVID period, the only time sometimes you’d see a face was when you went to that kiosk and they knew your name and they would get your mail, they would make you feel welcome,” Ms Oldaker said.
“They would also make sure that if any older resident hadn’t shown up on their normal route, they’d just check in on them, so it’s more than just a kiosk — a shop — it’s actually a community place where people meet.”
Other nearby attractions to close include the Princess Margaret Rose Cave in 2021, the Piccaninnie Ponds diving spot in 2023, and Ewens Ponds earlier this year.
The Princess Margaret Rose Cave has been closed for more than three years. (ABC South East SA: Eugene Boisvert)
‘Quagmire’ of bureaucracy
Ms Oldaker and her friend, Judy McDonald, have started a group tentatively called the Nelson Future Group, and hoped to come up with a plan to turn the town’s fortunes around.
“We’re trying to turn that ship around before it completely sinks,” Ms Oldaker said.
About 200 people live permanently in Nelson and many more visit during summer and on long weekends.
The Nelson Rotunda lies in a state of disrepair. (ABC South East SA: Eugene Boisvert)
A meeting hosted by the two women on Monday attracted about 20 people to be part of their group.
A survey conducted in August found the main concerns in the town were the closure of the kiosk, the state of walking paths, and rabbit numbers.
Ms Oldaker and Ms McDonald hope their group will be able to coordinate the five different government departments and the Glenelg Shire Council that run different aspects of the town.
Ms Oldaker said a lack of coordination and planning was holding back the town.
“We kind of almost think of it as a quagmire that we’re stuck in,” she said.
“It’s very hard to influence a change when you’ve got to go through several different authorities and regulators to get something as simple as a path put in.
“Because you might go from this is crown land, which is DEECA or the committee of management, this is now Parks [Victoria] land, this is now the shire land, this is now heading over to marine land or into state parks.
“To get a simple path in that analogy, you might need to have different funding for every strip of that.”
The Glenelg River Cruises are still running in Nelson. (ABC South East SA: Eugene Boisvert)
Services still running
The town’s post office is now run from the Nelson Road House but no longer includes banking services, while the Nelson Hotel is now opening earlier to supply breakfast, coffee, and newspapers.
Nelson Tourist Association president Nicole Graham said the service station had done a good job in taking over from the kiosk as a de facto general store.
Krishna Pepalla runs the Australia Post service at the Nelson Road House. (ABC South East SA: Eugene Boisvert)
Ms Graham said accommodation booking appeared good for summer and that people came to Nelson more for the natural attractions than for shopping.
“I think people come here for the fishing, for the bushwalking, for the birdwatching, for the beaches and I think they like that the town is not a mecca tourist town, so you do get a good amount of tourists, but it’s not busy,” she said.
A spokesperson for DEECA said the committee of management was planning to bring food trucks to Nelson during the summer school holidays.
“The committee understands the value the former kiosk provided to Nelson and looks forward to engaging with locals and the shire to help shape future plans for the precinct,” he said.
