Today Beulah is a tiny town of 320 people, located 382 kilometres north west of Melbourne on the Henty Highway. It is hard to imagine that there was a time (around the turn of the century) when the Beulah district produced 125,000 bags of wheat each year and the local wool clip was worth $25,000. This was a time when the local general store, Cust & Sons, was huge and prosperous, Gillespie & Co had a flour mill and Franklin's Hotel was an elegant building.
The townsite stands on what was once Brim sheep station. When the area was opened up for closer settlement many selectors came from the Wimmera district, including the McKenzies who took up land just north of the present townsite in 1882. Devout Presbyterians, they named the township after a place-name in the Bible (Isaiah 62: 4).
The McKenzie land was subdivided in 1890, a survey conducted and the town was officially proclaimed in 1891. That year the local school had a population of 50. The railway line was extended from Warracknabeal in 1893 to the benefit of local graziers. The following year, the first edition of the Beulah Record and Mallee Advocate was published.
Today there is little to see in Beulah but it is worth visiting because time has stood still. The shops in the main street, although many are closed, are from another era and the sleepiness is a reminder of what happens when the reasons for a town's existence are slowly leached away.
Things to see
The Ties That Bind
There is no doubt about it. The folks at Beulah love their town. Ever since Walkabout drove through the town and came to the conclusion that it was dying there have been a number of locals who wish to disagree with us. That is part of the process. These are people who love the town and care about the town. Draw your own conclusion. We know that locals are often right. Certainly they deserve to tell the world how they feel about their tiny settlement.
As a result of this correspondence, Walkabout has given some thought to the matter and revised its opinion about the town 'dying', as, although it has suffered attrition due to structural changes, it seems apparent that an intense and spirited sense of community will ensure the survival of Beulah into the immediate future.
A local comments:
Hannah Coffey came across this entry and was a little sad about what we had written. She wrote an email which deserves to be included:
"I have just accessed the above site and read your rundown on Beulah, Victoria. I was most upset at what you had perceived as vital information - that the town is from another era, that it is dying. I grew up in Beulah, and only moved away when I was 18. I do agree with you that the town is not as large, bustling or populated as what it was once purported to be. However to say that it is dying really casts a shadow over the life, the vitality and the general feeling of the town and most importantly, the very lively inhabitants. At present, there are more young people living in town and on the surrounding farms than people say there have been in 20 years. The football, cricket, netball and tennis teams are all always near the top of their prospective ladders, which, as you can imagine, is paramount in such a small town. The pub is packed on a Saturday night and there is always some activity, club or mischief to join in on.
I know that I am defensive because it is my home town, but I was most upset by the way you peceived Beulah. I would like to suggest that next time you are there, or in any other small town, you head down to the local pub at night, or even just take a walk down the main street and actually converse with some of the town's characters. They'll give you a lot of reasons to believe that the town is alive and well and will hopefully change your rather obvious opinion.
And may I just add that we are right up with the current economic trends - Beulah is not dying, it is just downsizing.
We at Walkabout love Beulah. Let's hope someone reads this in 100 years time.
And another one
Like Hannah Coffey I was rather saddened to see your perspective on a much loved town such as Beulah. Unlike most of the small towns in the area, Beulah is one which I would definitely say is not dying.
Just recently we have enjoyed a number of premierships in different sporting capacities and our Bowls side has just been to the Victorian Pennant Bowls final - to get there they had to beat all sides from a large area, which includes such larger towns as Horsham and Stawell.
In our football club we are one of the few small towns who still stand alone without needing to join forces with neighbouring towns and many of the young men who play there choose to return to Beulah to play footy and be part of the wonderful social and sporting culture that is unique to Beulah.
Not only are our sporting clubs continually enjoying much success in our region, unlike most towns of similar size, Beulah has one of the youngest populations with many young people choosing to stay in the area to raise their families.
Our primary school may only have an average of 50 students, but there are many towns in the region that do not have their own school, particularly not one of the quality of Beulah.
Travellers to Beulah would find Beulah Pub to have a great welcoming atmosphere with no shortage of people or entertainment - and the best counter-meals around!
Yes, it may seem as though I am defending a town because it is where I am from, but I am very proud of the fact that I am from Beulah and I am sure any resident who saw the web-site would feel as strongly as both Hannah and myself because it truly is a unique and wonderful place to either visit or live.
Whilst I no longer live there, I do travel 4 hours back each weekend to play netball purely because of how enjoyable it is to be a part of a town like Beulah.
Just as a footnote, one of the "closed-down shops" shown actually moved to larger premises due to the need to expand the business - a ghost town I think not!
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