Emma's Cafe
Cafes are a draw card in every rural town. They are a social hub for the locals and a great reason for travellers to stop. Not many cafes can claim to be named after a much loved television character though.
In what has to be one of the dumbest questions ever, I ask café business owner, Dale Maggs, why it is called Emma’s? I already know that Minyip was the film set for The Flying Doctors ‘Coopers Crossing’ base from 1986 until 1982. No way you can miss the murals and signs across the entire streetscape. What I had forgotten is that Rebecca Gibney’s character was called Emma Plimpton. Emma ran the garage and also had a little coffee shop and pin ball parlour. A photo of Rebecca in her famous overalls standing in front of the building suddenly makes sense. Duh!
Built in the 1890’s Emma’s Café has that lovely old weatherboard exterior look that draws people to it. It is a favourite gathering place for locals and visitors to Minyip. Dale made the tough decision to close the café during the pandemic to protect his health, but kindly shows me through.
‘The original building was twice as large,’ Dale tells me. ‘They used to drive horses through to centre out to the back with half an arena in size. It would have been an amazing sight 135 years ago with the whole street lined wall to wall with shops.’
While The Flying Doctors still has a strong claim on the town, Minyip is going to hit the headlines again when a movie based on Jane Harper’s best-selling novel, The Dry, is released. It was meant to be in late August but, understandably, may be delayed until 2021.
Dale recalls one extremely hot day in February 2018. ‘It was 45 degrees and all the power had gone off in the region. I was just coming back from organising the hire of a generator when a Range rover pulled up outside of Emma’s. I said to them you look like you are lost, and they replied that they were looking for a place to film a movie. Come in and get a cool drink, I told them!’
They just so happened to be Hollywood actor Eric Bana and Film Director, Rob Connolly!
‘We’ve got some great stories in Minyip,’ Dale reflects. ‘The Flying Doctors. The Dressmaker. And now The Dry. 260 extras from the region worked on this film. Even my kids got parts in the movie. In 10 years’ time they will be talking about how The Dry took over our town and made a motion picture.’
By now I’ve figured out that Eric and Rob couldn’t have stumbled on a better person to convince them that Minyip was the perfect place for their movie. Dale admits that he does love talking to people in the cafe. ‘My wife calls me “Mr Haveachat”’ he laughs.
It is also fascinating to hear how Dale and his family settled in nearby Rupanyup 15 years ago. Dale’s love of motorcycling saw them supporting a charity ride raising funds for the Lighthouse Association and passed through the Wimmera on the first leg out of Melbourne.
‘We were sitting in a Dimboola café reading a newspaper when my wife Rachael saw a little house for sale and wanted to look at it on the way back home. We pulled into a little town we thought was called RUPPPUNYAP. The house was 100 years old.’
On the spot they bought the house and made the classic tree change from the Mornington Peninsula. And yes, they now know how to pronounce Rupanyup.
At the heart of their decision were their two children. ‘It was a good way to get kids into rural schooling away from some of the less desirable aspects of city life,’ he admits
With a background in hospitality Rachael set up a business in Rupanyup. It was when that lease expired that they became aware of Emma’s Café being advertised in nearby Minyip.
‘The building is owned by the Minyip Progress Association and they were keen to get someone in there. Previously it had been running as a community café with volunteers. We leased it through the local real estate agent in 2014.’
Since taking over Emma’s Cafe six years ago Dale and Rachael have seen an increase in visitation thanks to the silo art trail.
‘The Silo paintings have given all the businesses a good boost. We’ve seen a ten percent increase in travellers, staying for a night in our town and other towns. They look at the towns, have lunch, go to Woods Museum, and look around the region. It’s been money well spent by the State Government and the local towns that got behind the silos being painted,’ says Dale.
Sadly, 2020 is not panning out quite as expected.
‘Realistically our biggest challenges are usually things like power outages and exceptional weather events. We’ve never faced a challenge like COVID. We had a 60 percent decrease in people coming when they first got worried, then there was nothing.’
This, along with ongoing building renovations and Dale’s underlying health issues, made the decision easier to close, however, he misses the people and the daily routine.
‘I usually arrive early to make up fresh sandwiches, top up the cakes, and get the coffee machine going by 8.00am on weekdays and 9.00am on Saturdays. People love starting their day with freshly brewed coffee from a barista.’
Dale and Rachael are now firmly embedded in the local community.
‘One of the worst things you deal with in a small community is the passing of a friend. A lot of the customers have spent hours having meals in our shop, conversing with each other, and us, and then we have to cater for their funeral.’
They also organise Minyip’s annual Show ‘n Shine Bike and Car event on the last weekend of February to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and local community.
‘It came about seven years ago on the back of the worst drought in the region. I was working for one of the local farmers at the time. A lot of my mates were down with the “black dog” on their backs. Being involved in motorcycling events I thought I could do something to brighten up the region. Within six weeks I had the very first show ‘n shine arranged.’
In February this year, the event raised $2,500 for the RFDS and $3,500 for the Minyip Progress Association.
Dale is now looking forward to another opportunity to take his Harley Davidson out for a spin. Well to be specific- and he was very specific - it is a 100th Anniversary 1200 Sportster Harley Davidson manufactured in 2003!
And why is he so excited you may be wondering? Dale has been assigned the important task of taking the producer of the ABC’s Back Road’s program on a tour of the district.
Hmmm looks like another celebrity, Heather Ewart, is planning on visiting Minyip.
Move over Rebecca Gibney and Eric Bana!
KERRY ANDERSON: Founder of the Operation Next Gen program and author of ‘Entrepreneurship: It’s Everybody’s Business,’ Kerry works with small businesses and rural communities to help them embrace new opportunities. In 2018 she was named as one of Australia’s Top 50 Regional Agents of Change. READ MORE