OPINION: Welcome surprise found at country race day

A visiting columnist shares their experience of the Roma Picnic Races.

Coming down the home straight in Race 1 at the Roma Picnic Races. Picture: Jorja McDonnell

ONE of the benefits of living in a rural or regional town is that 'community' truly means something.

A town that welcomes strangers into its mix and treats them like one of its own is like finding Nirvana - it sweeps you up in the moment, makes you want to spend more in the local community and has you promising to come back again and again.

On the race weekend the good people of Roma outshone themselves. If having a sense of community could be measured in terms of wealth, then Roma is sitting on the whole damned gold mine. Nine of us from the Sunshine Coast ventured west for the weekend to attend their annual picnic races. The ticket price included the ball on the Friday night and the races the next day, and we went along fully prepared to immerse ourselves in the experience.

From the moment we arrived the people of Roma could not have been more welcoming or inclusive.

We were given a great table at the ball, where there were very few speeches, but plenty of good food and wine and an amazing band that saw us all dance the night away alongside our new-found friends from Roma.

There were more than 30 people on the organising committee for the weekend and it was great to see that the very young and the elder statesmen and women were included in many of the events they had organised. It was clear that this was a team effort by a community that was aligned.

Steve and Jennifer Swaine. Picture: Jorja McDonnell

The races were an absolute hoot, as were fashions on the field with one of our group even taking out the best dressed couple.

Everything was thought of to make the visitors' experience a better one with buses collecting us for each event and dropping us back to the motel afterwards - as an outsider you could not help but be impressed.

The rain last weekend was a welcome gift and hopefully Roma has been given a small respite from the vicious drought that has brought many of the good farm folk to their knees in recent years.

This beautiful little community should be so incredibly proud of themselves. Our group all left after ensuring we put something back into the community by paying for food, accommodation and going shopping.

Our rural towns are still hurting from natural disasters that none of us town folk will ever really understand so if you get the chance head west and check out these friendly, welcoming communities - your soul will be the better for it.

Originally published as OPINION: Welcome surprise found at country race day