Shawn McNally promises that there will be purple umbrellas outside Grafton’s Clocktower Hotel this November. The town’s famous Jacaranda Festival may have been cancelled, but McNally is just one of the locals determined to keep the spirit alive.

“The festival is massive for Grafton; you have people eating and drinking and celebrating right across town,” says McNally, the hotel’s manager. “The flowers will still be out, though, so we’ll be trying to make it a little bit special.”