DRIVING down the main street of Cohuna, it’s not hard to notice that the once empty shops now host thriving businesses.
There is not a single For Rent sign or boarded up window to be seen.
Cohuna and District Progress Association president John Dickson believes ideal farming conditions are the reason.
“What we find in Cohuna is that if the farmers are doing really well, the town is doing really well … we do rely heavily on the farming community throughout this district,” Mr Dickson said.
“With the (former) dry conditions and the high price of water, it was very difficult for farmers to do business anywhere.
“Now, since the weather has turned, milk prices have increased, we have got decent water prices and agriculture is moving ahead, I think that has given businesses a great deal of confidence.”
Mr Dickson also believes COVID has ironically played a positive role in boosting local business as well.
“I think now that COVID has been through, it’s actually given the businesses a fair degree of confidence that the locals will shop locally,” Mr Dickson said.
“You can run a business reasonably well if you know that the people in town are going to support you.”
Gannawarra Shire Council’s economic development manager Roger Griffiths believes having full shopfronts creates a level of “vibrancy” and provides new opportunities for the town.
“I think Cohuna is on the cusp of significant growth, and a strong retail sector will be something that attracts people to town, be they residents or visitors,” Mr Griffiths said.
The Gannawarra Shire Council has recently completed the Cohuna Waterfront Project, which oversaw $3.4 million worth of works to Apex Park, Garden Park and King George Street over a two-year period.
“When you drive into town and you have a look at the streetscape now, you think to yourself, ‘that’s a pretty town’, and you stop,” he said. “And if people stop, they spend money, even if it just a cup of coffee.
“For every $100 that is spent in this community, it probably circulates three times.”
However, Mr Griffiths believes the next challenge will be finding enough people to adequately fill the workforce in Cohuna, as businesses across Australia struggle heavily with staff shortages.
“It’s a numbers game,” he said.
“When you look at the opportunities out there in agriculture, energy, manufacturing and mineral sands, our challenge is attracting enough people to fill the hundreds of jobs emerging.
“For the retail sector to thrive, we need to keep bringing more people to town primarily through relocation and visitation.”
But Mr Dickson is confident it will all fall into place for Cohuna, with business, economic and employment prosperity all working together, and hopefully preparing the town for whatever happens in the future.
“I think that it’s important that you spend money locally, because the minute COVID hits again, and it probably will, having those services and those businesses close by that you can go into without travelling, get what you need and actually get home is really, really important,” Mr Dickson said.
“That has struck home in this community post-COVID.”
