Escape to Jugiong, NSW: 'It's a great little community here, it’s really strong'

This pocket-sized village, an hour and a half’s drive from Canberra, was faced with what could have been a slow decline when a highway bypass was built around in the mid-1990s.

But the arrival of The Long Track Pantry and Gino’s Fruit and Veg shop put Jugiong on a different path, and it’s now a popular destination for daytrippers and campers who can kick back and relax, and enjoy a splash about in the Murrumbidgee River.

Population: 222, as at the 2016 census

Who lives here:

Local Wesley Leseberg, of the Jugiong Advancement Group, was born and raised in Jugiong and returned in 2012.

He said it had experienced a complete turnaround since the Hume Highway bypass, with more businesses opening in the past five years.

“The mix is the community has changed greatly,” said Mr Leseberg. “Once upon time you were born, raised and died here, but that’s not the case any more.

“It’s quite diverse. People are coming from all over the place.”

Involved in both the popular local Art Exhibition and Writers’ Festival is Joy Coggan, who came to town from Coonamble when she was 20. She has witnessed many of the ebbs and flows of Jugiong’s fortunes.

“When the bypass first happened, it nearly died,” she said. “The general store closed, the post office was moved. There was just nothing happening.”

But an extensive upgrade of the local park and people flocking to the Long Track Pantry, as well as strong community spirit, have transformed the town.

“There’s about 150,000 to 200,000 people going through a year now. That’s a huge difference for us, to have so many visitors,” she said.

“It is bringing a lot of dollars into the Hilltop region.”

One more recent arrival is Sydney transplant Jen Sturrock, who runs the Jugiong Inn with her partner Mark Milner, the pair coming to pursue a tree change.

“I’d never actually heard of Jugiong,” she said. “We were doing an inland trip, and we came across this place and just fell in love with it.”

Another is Brian Allen, who runs the Quirky Crow gallery with his partner Trish Winpenny.  He came to town four years ago from a farm and orchard business.

“There’s great diversity, a great range of people, and they all seem to fit in together,” he said.

Amy Clark from local business Ivy & Art, is also relatively new, having been in Jugiong for five years, and remarked that she and her husband hadn’t lived in a town like it.

“It’s a great community, everyone is super friendly, very social,” she said.

What happens here?

One of the biggest events in Jugiong is the Writers’ Festival, held in March this year, and locals say it does attract a bit of a crowd.

There’s also the Jugiong Art Exhibition coming up in November, the Jugiong Campdraft in May, the Polocrosse Club Carnival and the annual meet of the Renault Car Club.

April sees a significant Anzac Day commemoration, with a guest speaker coming and both the Australian and New Zealand anthems sung, and there are hopes of getting the golf club going again.

And there’s the shopping. Aside from the staples there are two more wine stores including the Jugiong Wine Cellar with its focus on local growing areas, the architectural salvage store Woodstock Resources, homewares store Curators Collective and gallery, workshop and the aforementioned Ivy & Art. 

The Long Track Pantry also plays host to two markets, one based on arts and crafts and the other on food.

What life’s like here?

The community is key in Jugiong, with locals commenting that the strength of the town comes from supporting and looking after each other.

Mr Leseberg said most residents were involved in local community groups, and everyone working together to keep the town tidy.

It’s also a generous place in terms of fundraising, with events like the quilt show raising funds to combat heart disease.

Ms Sturrock said that she’d found the town very welcoming. “It’s hard to put into words – it’s like a big family of people, there’s lots of support here.”

There’s also the arts scene, with Mr Allen mentioning the plethora of artists and creative people living in the area – and, he said, the many women in leadership roles.

“A lot of thing in Jugiong are run by women, they are very strongly represented here – our community groups, our art exhibition and our writers’ festival. And that’s good – they seem to get on!

“It’s a great little community here, it’s really strong.”

What jobs are here?

The town’s emergence as a foodie destination had greatly buoyed the local economy, with the Long Track Pantry striding ahead. The Sir George Tavern has been completely renovated in the past few years and is also a popular stopping point for travellers, and a big employer, and there’s even a gelato bar open in the summer months.

A lot of families camp over the period from Christmas to Australia Day, and in spring and autumn there can 50 to 100 grey nomad campervans parked in the leafy camping area.

“It’s something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime,” said Mr Leseberg.

“The bulk of employment is obviously in rural industries,” he added, with work in nearby towns including Young, Harden, Yass, Gundagai and Cootamundra. There are other local employers, too, such as the waterworks.

Ms Sturrock said the town was well positioned as a stop-off point for drivers travelling between Sydney and Melbourne, weekend visitors from Wagga and Canberra, and nearby residents popping in for a meal.

“We get people from local towns having dinner,” she said. “It certainly swells on weekends.”

“People come from the day, or a weekend,” Ms Coggan said. “Because it’s like foodie heaven there – we know our coffee now!”

Why you should move here:

Locals agree that the town has a relaxing pace of life, beautiful scenery, and offers a lot to families in particular – although it’s worth noting that there’s not a huge amount on sale, due to its popularity.

“Jugiong just does offer a lifestyle all of its own,” Mr Leseberg said. “And you’re not a great a commute away from Canberra, Wagga, or even Sydney. The coast is only about two hours away.”

He said one of reasons for returning was to give his kids a similar upbringing to the one he had, with loads of opportunities to get outdoors and more facilities – such as the local swimming pool, tennis courts and skate park – than other towns of its size.

Ms Sturrock said the town’s small primary school “bats way above its weight” when it came to what it could offer students.

“The opportunities are the same as any school here, but you just have so much more individual attention,” she said.

“If you are young family looking for a tree change, you don’t have to worry about your kids playing outside,” she added. “It’s a healthy environment.”

Mr Allen agreed: “I see the kids riding their pushbikes, their horses, and fishing in the river. This environment here promotes that, if you like.”

“It’s really friendly, it’s really lovely. We’ve always been really welcome from the moment we’ve moved there,” said Ms Clark. “Everyone is happy to help other people out.”

“I just think it’s a lovely place for a family.”