Sunday, lovely Sunday

Weekends in Warburton. Some things haven't changed. There's still takeaway night at the roadhouse on Friday nights (not a favourite of mine) and takeaway pizza on Saturdays (pretty good). Now, however, by the various forces of serendipidity and opportunity, there is Sunday morning cafe at the Shire.

Edge of the Shire, overlooking meeting room
(one of the first photos I took in Warburton, 2006)

The Shire building is one of those unusual features of Warburton. It's architecturally quite interesting, but sadly showing its weather-beaten cracks and crevices after a decade or so hard yakka in the summer sun. There are interesting sweeps and shadows, paths and taps, all suggesting a past and a vision that is mostly unrealised today.

I hear that the space had its heyday, soon after it was built, when community members worked and painted in the different spaces. The cafe at the end was staffed by community young people learning the tourist business (a laminated poster I found today evidence of what was once on offer). One community member used to welcome tourists and give them a tour of the exhibition and a window into the Mission history.

As with all things remote, key people with the right personality move on. The essential challenges of the place assert - the main one being distance. A vehicle is needed to get there, even though it's only a few kilometres out of town. It feels like a long long 20 minutes walking in the heat and dust and flies. No shoes. Other commitments and interests more pressing.

Today, the cafe comes to life just once a week. The industrial-strength expresso machine cranks up and churns out cappuccinos like it were Lygon St. Apprentice MasterChefs sharpen their knives and practice their arts. Those less inspired or inclined donate to keep the club stocked with essentials. Offerings today included white chocolate cheesecake, banana and blueberry pikelets, date slice, and chocolate cake with lemon icing. Warburton Food Crisis - I don't think so!

It is a shame to see the vision of the building mostly absent now. Like all spaces, however, they flex and transform. While it's only for a few hours, the space is lightly spun with the webs of social contact, fragile but enduring. A space perhaps encouraging more to stay, morphing work into play, and spurring new ideas for a better place and a better way.