FEATURE PROFILE: Strathbogie General Store
September 30, 2022
Locals and travellers are greeted like family at the historic Strathbogie General Store.
“It’s a vibrant, happy store,” owner Andrew Townsend said.
Andrew and wife Fiona have run the 120-year-old store since December 1, 2021, and welcoming people at the door – or under the verandah – is as natural as the Strathbogie Ranges.
The store’s foundations were laid in 1902, originally the Strathbogie Butter Co-operative Store. Now a licensed general store with post office and café, the business sells local produce and goods, including: artisan bread; raw and organic honey; preserves; free-range beef; wine and craft beer.
Like the bees who made the range of honey, the store is buzzing.
“We have two stipulations for our staff: If you can’t sing, you can whistle; and we don’t run, we skip,” Andrew said.
“We employ 11 casuals on a rotating roster and are on target to increase sales by the end of our first 12 months,” he said of figures to hand.
The secret ingredient?
“Smiles are our secret.”
“Our family has always been community minded and inclusive. We welcome every customer who comes to the store and treat them like part of the family, as though they are coming into our home.
“It’s an experience for customers to come in, not just about buying something or paying a bill at the post office.”
The eclectic mix of customers include locals (“old, new, and young families”), bushwalkers, cyclists, motorbike and car clubs, regional daytrippers, and interstate visitors.
“If you look at a road map, all roads lead to Strathbogie!” Fiona said.
“Strathbogie is a pretty little village but the whole region is a joy to travel around and visit. The word ‘picturesque’ doesn’t do it justice.”
The Townsend family (then with four children) moved to Strathbogie from Brisbane 28 years ago “in the early days of being a tree-changer”.
“Fiona had grown up in Melbourne and her parents were ageing, which is why we moved to Victoria,” Andrew said.
“We looked all around Victoria for country with clean air and water, no pollution: Strathbogie ticked all the boxes.”
While the purchase of a small farm by “early tree-changers” initially raised a few eyebrows, it soon became clear Andrew had extensive farming experience.
“I started work as a jackaroo at 16 on big stations in far north Queensland,” he said. “I had worked as a farm manager, consultant and in agricultural marketing when we were in Queensland.”
In Strathbogie, Andrew worked as a farm manager and contractor and within a few years of arriving and the birth of their fifth child, Fiona co-founded Strathbogie Tableland Talk, a community newsletter. She studied to become a teacher, working at Euroa Secondary College where she still educates senior students while operating the family’s new business.
And, while “running around like a blue-tailed fly” in their busy Strathbogie General Store, Andrew continues to breed British White heritage cattle.
“We sell our free-range beef in the store after it’s processed by Scott Reid from Avenel Meats,” Andrew said.
Among the ‘rowdy, whistling and skipping’ team at Strathbogie General Store, are three generations of Townsends, well-known locals, and junior staff.
There are big smiles all round and plans to grow the business. “We’d like to extend the external decking, but first we need to increase the waste-water facility due to the increase in customers,” Andrew said.
While looking to a vibrant future, the store − and community – will celebrate the town’s rich past on Strathbogie Heritage Day on the weekend before the 2022 Melbourne Cup.
“Our store will be celebrating 120 years with a barbecue after the unveiling of the Strathbogie Heritage Trail,” Andrew said.
Heritage plaques have been installed around numerous buildings, and interest from the community and visitors is indicating it will be a busy weekend.”
Heritage Day on Sunday, October 30 is a community event, presented by Strathbogie Tableland History Group.
The celebrations will kick-off at 10.30am and everybody is welcome (but no pets or animals) to the festivities in Main Street, Strathbogie.
The event will include:
Unveiling of heritage trail
BBQ at Strathbogie Store, celebrating 120 years
St Andrew’s Church open, celebrating 100 years
Local history books on sale
Memorabilia on display at the hall