Escape to Amphitheatre, Victoria: no crowds, no cafes, but the locals love it

It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it-town of fewer than 300 people. There’s no pub and no cafe, but what Amphitheatre lacks in places it makes up for in people.

The tiny Victorian town 40 minutes north-west of Ballarat has a community more connected than most in regional areas or even metro suburbs.

Every Friday night, locals gather to share dinner. In the daylight-saving months, they fire up the barbecues at Bakery Park and in the colder months, they gather at the Mechanics’ Institute Hall where there’s a tendency towards hearty casseroles.

The Friday night dinner is a social tradition that not only keeps locals connected, but welcomes the occasional newcomer. It also bands them together for local causes, such as the current efforts to improve the Avenue of Honour.

Amphitheatre has always been a small town, although it did climb to 6000 during the gold-rush heydays of the mid-1800s.

And, to answer the obvious question: Amphitheatre isn’t home to any man-made amphitheatres.

Instead, it has something better — an amphitheatre made by Mother Nature. Just south of the town, there’s a round, bowl-like valley surrounded by the Pyrenees mountains, hence the name.

Locals love Amphitheatre first and foremost for its warm and welcoming people, followed closely by the beauty of the hills it is enclosed by.

Population: 248 as of 2016 census.

Who lives there?

Susan Campbell-Wright and her family moved to Amphitheatre from Melbourne to be closer to their adult son, who lives in the town.

“We moved in 2017 and I wish we had done it sooner,” she said.

“We stayed in Melbourne for far too long. But, you have this mindset when you live in the suburbs that you really need to be there for the kids’ education, for medical things, this and that, and then you get out here and you can find you can still have all of that and it’s actually easier.”

At first, there were a lot of friends and confused faces and “where’s Amphitheatres?”, but Campbell-Wright got used to telling them “it’s near Avoca” or “it’s an hour past Ballarat”.

Campbell-Wright said she felt immediately accepted into the country town.

“We like the fact that it’s small and quiet and all the people we’ve met are really friendly and welcoming,” she said.

“There’s none of that idea of ‘oh, you’re newcomers so you’re on the outer’ — it’s not like that at all. I know some other fairly recent arrivals and they agree everyone’s fairly welcoming.”

Campbell-Wright now co-runs the community Facebook page with her daughter Flora and is a member of the Wednesday morning craft club.

A year ago, she and her family purchased the Amphitheatre Hotel. Once an icon in the area, it had been operating as a BnB before it closed, and was in desperate need of renovation.

“When we bought it everyone in the town thought, ‘Woohoo, we’re going to get the pub back’, and I had to say, ‘Well, no we’re not going to buy it to do it up as a pub, we’re actually doing it up to live in,” she said.

“But, we’ve brought them around, they’re happy with what we’re doing, they pop in and see our progress.

“We’re being really careful and not doing anything that will prevent it from being a pub in the future. So, what we say to the locals is when we drop off the perch, one of you can take it over.”

What happens there?

The Amphitheatre Primary School has just six students, but in many ways it’s a focal part of the community. Principal Louis Franc organises regular fundraisers and community events to keep community spirit strong and future pupils coming through the door.

“We try and do things with the community, like at the moment we’re organising a wood raffle with some wood that’s been donated by a local dad,” he said.

“And, back at Easter time I organised an Easter fair, called the Easter Eggstravaganza, which was good fun. I think we had about 40 to 50 people there, parents, grandparents, even preschool kids.”

The school has a lengthy history stretching back to 1861 when it was first built. It moved to a larger site in 1875 and despite fluctuating enrolments, continues to flourish.

Every fortnight the school is part of a “cluster day” with other nearby local schools, such as Landsborough Primary School so students can learn with others and make new friends.   

As for other events, Amphitheatre has an active tennis club and playgroup. Being a well-known sheep-farming area, the town hosted the Amphitheatre Sheep and Woolcraft Day or Fleece Day.

What’s life like?

Life is pretty quiet in Amphitheatre, but big town activities aren’t far away. Avoca is a 10-minute drive away, Ballarat is a 40-minute trip and Melbourne is two hours by car. The rugged beauty of the Grampians is only an hour away.

“It’s a good central spot here,” said Raelene Johnson, who runs the Amphitheatre post office.

“I’d recommend people to live here, but there’s no facilities here other than the post office and school, and there’s only a bus that runs through Fridays and Saturdays, so they really need their own transport.

“But, on the whole it’s lovely and peaceful and it’s surprising how many people have heard of it. I think it’s because the vineyards are so close, there’s a lot of vineyards in Avoca. ”

Johnson purchased the post office nine years ago because it had been on the market for a while and she didn’t want it to close. Johnson is well known to most of the town’s residents, who she describes as “fantastic”.

Like most of them, her favourite thing about living in “Amphi” is the countryside.

“I love the hills,” she said.

“When it turns green in winter it’s just beautiful. The main highway runs through it, but I live off the main highway in a valley and you look up at the hills and it’s just gorgeous.”

What jobs are there?

A lot of Amphitheatre’s residents are farmers — mostly sheep or cattle. A lot of locals commute to work at local vineyards or to Ballarat to work at places there, such as the hospital, and some to nearby towns such as Ararat, where there’s a prison.

Why should you move there?

If you’re looking for a quiet country town to call home without sacrificing big town connections, Amphitheatre is a strong contender. It’s central-west location means it’s not far away from the action, while still being far enough away to enjoy a small-town atmosphere.

The countryside itself is a huge drawcard. The Pyrenees State Forest has a seasonal waterfall, campgrounds and four-wheel driving tracks. Best of all, it’s a great place to bushwalk, particularly for seasoned walkers who enjoy taking on the Pyrenees Endurance Walk — an 18-kilometre, one-way overnighter.

But hands down the number one attraction at Amphitheatre is it’s friendly community. Anyone who moves there just has to rock up with dinner to the regular Friday night get-togethers and they’re set for a good meal and great company.