Fears as empty shops litter Naracoorte’s main street, but traders believe carparking can solve the problems

Naracoorte’s beloved bakery has joined the list of shuttered shops in the main street – but local traders say there’s hope, if the local council can fix one thing.

Naracoorte's Smith Street has a large number of empty shops, but traders are remaining positive and say growth is possible if the council focuses on adding car parks. Picture: Jessica Dempster

Twenty years ago, it was a busy country town’s main street – a regional hub for multiple small towns.

Today, some locals fear Naracoorte’s Smith Street is becoming a ghost town. But some business owners are positive and even say their stores are trading well, highlighting one main issue with the main street – carparking.

Last week, the once-iconic Morris Bakery closed abruptly, reigniting fears over the increasing number of empty businesses along Naracoorte’s main street.

With a population of 9000, Naracoorte – about 100km north of Mount Gambier in SA’s Limestone Coast region – once served as the regional retail hub for smaller surrounding towns, often sparing locals from a time-consuming day trip to their closest city, Mount Gambier.

Over recent years, the town’s main strip has seen a steady decline in businesses, with eight shopfronts now sitting empty along the once-bustling stretch.

In addition to the closure of Morris Bakery – revealed to be in part over a former employee allegedly embezzling $300,000 from the business – the main street has also lost its local newsagents, Target Country in 2021, ANZ Bank and Asian Grocer in recent years.

End of an era: Naracoorte's iconic Morris and Sons Bakery has closed its doors after over eighty years of business in the country town. Picture: Jessica Dempster.

Naracoorte’s Smith Street has roughly as many empty shopfronts as it does trading businesses. Picture: Jessica Dempster

The bakery’s neighbour, Naracoorte Gifts and Flowers, closed their doors on January 31 after the florist who ran the store decided to put her scissors down after 34 years.

While the situation may seem dire, Leah Davenport, owner of Trends of Naracoorte – a clothing store catering to mainly older women – at the west end of Smith Street, said there was “still hope and growth” among businesses in town.

“I took over the business (Trends) in July last year, and so far it’s been going really well,” Ms Davenport said.

“There are lots of positives happening among established businesses in the town.

“We’ve had several businesses move into vacant shops on the stretch to help fill some of the empty space and we’ve also had one shop have to move over to Ormerod Street as they outgrew their old shop, so that’s a sign that businesses can and are thriving here.

“I don’t think it’s good to fixate too much on the empty shops and say that the ‘town is dying’, that’s not going to do anyone any good.”

People walking along the busy main street of Naracoorte in 2004.

While Ms Davenport holds a positive attitude towards the state of business in town, she acknowledged “people are really worried” about the number of empty shops in the main street, attributing a lack of parking as a potential problem for the main street’s struggle.

“Parking is a real issue,” she said. “In order for people to pop into a bakery and grab a pie for lunch or duck into the newsagent to get a newspaper or buy a lotto ticket, people need to be able to park outside and if they can’t do that, they’ll likely just drive on by.

“I can’t count the number of people who come into my shop on a daily basis and say ‘oh I was able to get a park outside so I thought I’d pop in’.

“Most of my clientele are ladies in their 60s to 70s, they need to be able to park close to the shop or they won’t come in. It’s the same with any pit-stop business which is what a main street is mainly for.”

Some business owners say the lack of parking along the main street is one problem impacting business. Picture: Jessica Dempster

In September 2023 it was revealed Naracoorte Lucindale Council had a chance to purchase the former ANZ Bank property, located next to the town square and between the town’s two main precincts on Smith and Ormerod Street, demolish the building and turn it into a carpark.

Community consultation revealed 132 out of 196 respondents didn’t support the proposal – in large part due to the $1.2m cost, which some locals said could be better spent elsewhere.

A vote at the council’s December meeting was split five-five, with the tie broken by Mayor Patrick Ross who voted against purchasing of the property and the project was discarded.

The 17 parking spots currently available on the former ANZ property are blocked off to the public, preventing anyone from parking on the site.

Ms Davenport said she was disappointed by the decision and replacing the former bank site with parking would have been good for the town, especially for the elderly and people with mobility issues.

“Older people with mobility issues need better parking,” Ms Davenport said.

“If they can’t get park on the main street the alternatives, like the Woolies parking lot, is on a slope and not ideal for them.”

Community feedback from the ANZ parking proposal showed 100 people (51 per cent) didn’t think there was a parking shortage in Naracoorte but 96 people (49 per cent) believed there was.

So if not the parking, what needs to change to restore Smith Street to its former glory?

Community feedback showed 51 per cent of the people surveyed didn’t think there was a parking shortage in Naracoorte. Picture: Jessica Dempster

Ever since the 2021 closure of Target Country, locals have been crying out for a place to buy children’s clothing and toys as well as basic and affordable adult clothing.

A 2023 post on the Naracoorte Notice Board Facebook page confirmed the dire need as the page’s admin asked locals what shops they’d most like to see come to town.

“We need an affordable kids and adults clothes store with the necessities of underwear and socks at affordable prices like Best and Less, Target, K-hub or similar,” one user said.

“Definitely some sort of clothing store that caters all ages at an affordable price. I love the couple of shops we have but I don’t think my three-year-old needs to live in $80 jumpers,” said another.

Naracoorte’s busy main street in January, 2004.

Other popular suggestions on the thread highlighted the need for a venue for families such as a play cafe or pram-friendly coffee shop.

“There are so many new mums in town and we need a place to get out of the house to meet and catch up with other mums. There are not really any toddler-friendly cafes in Naracoorte,” commented one user.

“We also need something like a proper cinema or arcade or something for the older kids to do.”

It’s clear Naracoorte locals are passionate about the longevity of their town and don’t want it reduced to a place travellers merely pass through on their way to the city.

“Naracoorte is very central and could attract people from surrounding towns in every direction … this should be taken advantage of,” one person posted.

Council CEO Trevor Smart said the council was dedicated to evolving and changing the town from a business perspective through the implementation of the Naracoorte Town Centre Rejuvenation Plan.

“The closure of Morris Bakery was most unfortunate, with the loss of this business with its long standing history in Naracoorte felt by the community,” Mr Smart said.

“Shopfront vacancies are always a concern for the community, and there are often a variety of reasons for this.

“The Naracoorte Town Centre has seen a continued evolution of types of businesses and business locations across the town centre – and at different points in recent times there have been extremely low vacancy rates. More recently there has been significant movement to the eastern end of Smith Street (within the town centre area), and these business are largely service businesses including gym, dental, camping/outdoor, physio, travel, etc rather than traditional retail.

“Naracoorte is a significant regional service hub for the Limestone Coast and western Victoria.”