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I’m more amazed that a town of 11 people has a bar and a hotel. But also that so much drama exists in such small community.

by moltar 8y ago

ggm 8y ago
An Australian outback community needs three things to sustain and survive: a doctor (GP) a bank and a pub. Well.. in the final analysis, a pub will do. BTW, colloquially a "hotel" is a pub. Its not impossible town has two watering holes... not one. This is not that dissimilar to a situation I've seen in small Italian rural communities: one drinking hole which the left wing sit at, and one the right wing sit at. (or greece, or half a dozen other rural economies)
- flukus 8y ago
  > An Australian outback community needs three things to sustain and survive: a doctor (GP) a bank and a pub. Well.. in the final analysis, a pub will do. Last time I drove through it was more like a pub, a service/gas station and a crystal/woo shop.
  - pandapower2 8y ago
    >Last time I drove through it was more like a pub, a service/gas station and a crystal/woo shop. I'm not sure why that combination is present in so many Australian towns.
    - bigiain 8y ago
      The crystal/woo shop keeps the publican's wife out of his hair...
      - psergeant 8y ago
        This is also why quite a few pubs do Thai food.
- dragonsky67 8y ago
  And in many cases in Australia, they might be lucky to have a nurse and a fortnightly visit from the Flying Doctor. In many areas of Australia, without the Flying Doctor, medial treatment is a 2+ hour trip down a dirt road that is regularly cut for weeks on end during the wet season. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Flying_Doctor_Service_of_Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Flying_Doctor_Service_of...
reaperducer 8y ago
I’m more amazed that a town of 11 people has a bar and a hotel. According to Big G and OSM, it also has a post office, a museum, and a Devonshire tea house. You can't miss the tea house. It's across the street from the road marked "Rubbish Dump." Also be sure to check out the six-foot-tall plaster Pink Panther in the lawn chair next to the 20-foot-tall beer bottle. http://ttnotes.com/larrimah-museum.html#gal_post_21157_larrimah-museum-larrimah-3.jpg http://ttnotes.com/larrimah-museum.html#gal_post_21157_larri... Small towns are the same everywhere.
jpatokal 8y ago
That's because the town is on the Stuart Highway [1], the main road connecting Darwin with the rest of Australia. There's also very little other habitation in these parts, meaning any pitstop will get some passing traffic. Also, it's worth noting that in Australia, a "hotel" is a bar/pub that may or may not have accommodation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Highway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Highway
- paulsutter 8y ago
  Also true in Vietnam that a “Hotel” can mean a bar/restaurant. Not so strange really, in the US many bar/restaurants go by “Inn”, which of course even today can refer to a hotel (and historically even more so).
sonnyblarney 8y ago
"But also that so much drama exists in such small community." As a lover of small communities ... this part is bad. In a vacuum, every bit of news is inflated. So the smallest thing becomes something to talk about. I find European small communities are the right size - but also the right distance i.e. there are others close by, and usually a city not too far off. In Midwest North America and Australia it's really very isolated.
guessthejuice 8y ago
Easier for drama to escalate when everyone knows everyone and the town is so small you can't escape each other. You get into an argument with someone in NYC and you can go your own way and never see them again even if you live in the same city or even the same neighborhood. Get into an argument with someone in a small town and everyone knows about it by the time you get home and battle lines get drawn.

I’m more amazed that a town of 11 people has a bar and a hotel. But also that so much drama exists in such small community.

by moltar 8y ago

I’m more amazed that a town of 11 people has a bar and a hotel. But also that so much drama exists in such small community.

ggm 8y ago

An Australian outback community needs three things to sustain and survive: a doctor (GP) a bank and a pub. Well.. in the final analysis, a pub will do. BTW, colloquially a "hotel" is a pub. Its not impossible town has two watering holes... not one. This is not that dissimilar to a situation I've seen in small Italian rural communities: one drinking hole which the left wing sit at, and one the right wing sit at. (or greece, or half a dozen other rural economies)

flukus 8y ago
> An Australian outback community needs three things to sustain and survive: a doctor (GP) a bank and a pub. Well.. in the final analysis, a pub will do. Last time I drove through it was more like a pub, a service/gas station and a crystal/woo shop.
- pandapower2 8y ago
  >Last time I drove through it was more like a pub, a service/gas station and a crystal/woo shop. I'm not sure why that combination is present in so many Australian towns.
  - bigiain 8y ago
    The crystal/woo shop keeps the publican's wife out of his hair...
    - psergeant 8y ago
      This is also why quite a few pubs do Thai food.
dragonsky67 8y ago
And in many cases in Australia, they might be lucky to have a nurse and a fortnightly visit from the Flying Doctor. In many areas of Australia, without the Flying Doctor, medial treatment is a 2+ hour trip down a dirt road that is regularly cut for weeks on end during the wet season. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Flying_Doctor_Service_of_Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Flying_Doctor_Service_of...

reaperducer 8y ago

I’m more amazed that a town of 11 people has a bar and a hotel. According to Big G and OSM, it also has a post office, a museum, and a Devonshire tea house. You can't miss the tea house. It's across the street from the road marked "Rubbish Dump." Also be sure to check out the six-foot-tall plaster Pink Panther in the lawn chair next to the 20-foot-tall beer bottle. http://ttnotes.com/larrimah-museum.html#gal_post_21157_larrimah-museum-larrimah-3.jpg http://ttnotes.com/larrimah-museum.html#gal_post_21157_larri... Small towns are the same everywhere.

jpatokal 8y ago

That's because the town is on the Stuart Highway [1], the main road connecting Darwin with the rest of Australia. There's also very little other habitation in these parts, meaning any pitstop will get some passing traffic. Also, it's worth noting that in Australia, a "hotel" is a bar/pub that may or may not have accommodation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Highway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Highway

paulsutter 8y ago
Also true in Vietnam that a “Hotel” can mean a bar/restaurant. Not so strange really, in the US many bar/restaurants go by “Inn”, which of course even today can refer to a hotel (and historically even more so).

sonnyblarney 8y ago

"But also that so much drama exists in such small community." As a lover of small communities ... this part is bad. In a vacuum, every bit of news is inflated. So the smallest thing becomes something to talk about. I find European small communities are the right size - but also the right distance i.e. there are others close by, and usually a city not too far off. In Midwest North America and Australia it's really very isolated.

guessthejuice 8y ago

Easier for drama to escalate when everyone knows everyone and the town is so small you can't escape each other. You get into an argument with someone in NYC and you can go your own way and never see them again even if you live in the same city or even the same neighborhood. Get into an argument with someone in a small town and everyone knows about it by the time you get home and battle lines get drawn.