Offcuts
Offcuts: Every Town Has A Story
GRAB yourself a map of Australia.
Okay, now that you've done that, run your finger across it and pick a town ‑ any town.
Once you've picked one, drop the name of the town into Google and see what you can fish out.
And whether it be the famous meat pies at Kyneton's Country Cobb Bakery or the fact that the tiny West Australian hamlet of Lake Grace has produced nine AFL footballers, there's every chance that town is famous for something or someone.
Since being established in the heart of Port Adelaide in 1991,
But what, or who, are these places best known for?
What is their greatest export, or that one thing that put them on the map?
These are the stories of the towns that have helped build
Jamestown, SA
For a town of barely more than 1500 residents, Jamestown is punching above its weight.
It's produced a South Australian Premier (Sir John Cockburn), an Australian test cricketer (Edgar Mayne), and houses the world's largest lithium ion battery in nearby Hornsdale via tech billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla company.
But we simply can't go past the fact that the town was the birthplace of one Reginald Murray 'R.M.' Williams.
In his early years before becoming a millionaire entrepreneur, 'R.M.' was born into a pioneering settler family at nearby Belalie North where he lived the first 10 years of his life.
Now, his world‑famous boots and clothing are worn by everyone from 'cockies' to 'concrete cowboys'.
Naracoorte, SA
South Australia only has one World Heritage site, and that honour belongs to the Naracoorte Caves National Park which attracts thousands of visitors to the state's south east every year.
Considered one of the world's most important fossil sites, there are 28 known caves in the park but only four are open to the public, with the others kept away from the public eye given their importance for scientific research and to protect their contents.
Bendigo, VIC
Bendigo has produced many politicians, artists, sportspeople and business identities of note.
But the town is indelibly linked with the fact that during the 1850's, thousands of people descended upon it to try and strike it rich during the Victorian gold rush.
After the discovery of gold in the area in 1851, more than 40,000 diggers immediately made their way from nearby towns such as Castlemaine to seek their fortune.
Since that time, about 780,000 kilograms (25 million troy ounces) of gold have been extracted from Bendigo's goldmines.
Benalla, VIC
With hits like "The Holy Grail", "Throw Your Arms Around Me", "Better Be Home Soon" and "Don't Dream It's Over", the bands Hunters and Collectors and Crowded House have produced some of Australia's best‑known and most loved songs.
And the north‑eastern Victorian town of Benalla can lay claim to producing the driving forces of both bands.
Mark Seymour, front man of Hunters and Collectors, and brother Nick Seymour, bassist in Crowded House, were both born in the town in the 1950s to local schoolteacher parents.
"Since then, the siblings have gone on to sell a combined 11 million albums ‑ roughly equating to 1100 albums per every Benalla resident given the town's approximate population of 10,000".
Geelong, VIC
When it came to the age‑old question of "Ford or Holden", the answer in Geelong was invariably Ford given it was the company's Australian headquarters from 1925 until recently.
More than 3.8 million Ford Falcons were manufactured at the plant alone (along with many other models), before it was sadly closed in 2016 after the auto giant announced it was ceasing manufacturing in Australia.
Ford also struck up an enduring relationship with the town's other great love, the Geelong Football Club, who they have sponsored in some capacity for 95 years and counting ‑ believed to the longest club‑sponsor agreement in world sport and potentially soon to be ratified as a Guinness World record.
Ballarat, VIC
Along with Bendigo, Ballarat was at the centre of the Victorian gold rush but given we've already covered that ground, let's talk about one of the town's favourite sons ‑ aviation mogul Reg Ansett.
Ansett first dipped his toes into the business world in the early 1930s, operating a Studebaker car service between Ballarat and Maryborough (later followed by a Ballarat to Hamilton route).
He then graduated from four wheels to fixed wings, establishing Ansett Airways Pty Ltd in 1936 and offering a Hamilton to Melbourne run in a six‑seater light aircraft.
The company was soon listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange and the rest, as they say, is history (until the company's demise in 2002 that is).
Ararat, VIC
Ararat can lay claim to be the only town in Australia founded and developed by Chinese migrants, once again during the gold rush that took Victoria by storm in the 1850s.
In 1857, a party of Chinese miners en route to the Central Victorian gold fields struck gold at the Canton Lead which marked the beginning of great growth in Ararat.
The Chinese community was substantial in Ararat, and the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre commemorates the history of the community.
Parkes, NSW
The King lives!
Since 1992, this central west NSW town has been home to the Parkes Elvis Festival, growing from a one‑night event attracting 200 people to a five‑day extravaganza bringing 27,000 people through the town in 2019.
Held in early‑January, the festival offers over 200 different Elvis‑themed events for people to get involved in, and is crucial to the local economy injecting some $13 million of revenue annually.
Condobolin, NSW
If you hadn't heard of "Condo" before, you certainly did during 2003 when local boy Shannon Noll leapt onto our screens and into our hearts as a contestant on Australian Idol.
Noll spent his entire childhood and teenage years on the Condobolin family farm, which raised sheep and cattle and grew cereal crops.
"Nollsie" might have been pipped (some say robbed) for the main prize on Idol that year, but he has stayed in the public eye since and recently became a viral internet sensation for his "ocker" vocabulary.
Orange, NSW
Australia's most famous poet and a man who's face adorns the ten dollar note, Banjo Paterson was born at the property "Narrambla" near Orange in 1864.
From there, his acclaimed ballads and poems such as "Clancy of the Overflow", "The Man from Snowy River" and "Waltzing Matilda" essentially helped forge Australia's national identity through their depiction of rural and outback life.
In 1983, a Slim Dusty cover version of his ballad "Waltzing Matilda" became the first song broadcast by astronauts to earth.
That's when you know you've made it!
