Steiglitz meet cancelled

AN annual tradition aimed at attracting former residents and new visitors to the town of Steiglitz will not go ahead this year.

The Back to Steiglitz event, held each year during late October, has been cancelled for the first time following its pandemic hiatus.

Back to Steiglitz Association president Kathy Mar said the decision is primarily down to a shortage of volunteers among other factors.

“We’re only a small group of about half a dozen in our core team,” she said.

“There wasn’t enough of us to do it this year; some were on holidays this time and there’s been different things like health issues going on for different people.

“People come out of the woodwork on the day but there’s all the organising beforehand that we’re the backbone of.”

With Steiglitz itself managed by Parks Victoria, funding from the annual initiative is used to maintain the public amenities.

The town’s four public buildings, two churches, courthouse, and blacksmith’s cottage, are traditionally opened for visitors to wander around during the event.

Steiglitz was a prominent goldrush site during the latter 1880s, and had an estimated population of 61 in 2021 according to census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Ms Mar said the Back to Steiglitz event has been a visitation drawcard for the community since the early 2000s.

“It helps us connect as community and it’s an opportunity to open the buildings up to the public and give back,” she said.

Ms Mar said there needs to be younger volunteers putting their hand up to ensure the future of Back to Steiglitz.

“Those that are helping out, they’re all ageing,” she said. “I’m probably the youngest with my girls.

“It’s mainly retired people involved with this. We do need more young people involved and that’s why it’s getting harder to do because of illness and ageing.

“We’ll start planning now for next year and it’ll be good. I think some of us have burnt out a bit too so it’s good to have that rest so we can come back with a bit more vibrancy.”