In a quiet South Australian corner, just off the Thiele Highway, the residents of a tiny town are banding together to revive their community and create new opportunities to grow.
Mount Mary, 145 kilometres north east of Adelaide, was once the centre of a busy railway line, until the last train ran along its tracks in 1969.
It is now home to 36 people, a historic hotel, a mobile tower and — its latest addition — an op shop in the old town hall, which has been more than four years in the making.
The hall is full of memories for op shop coordinator Karen Dreckow, who has lived in Mount Mary for almost half her life, after meeting her husband at a good old fashioned country dance.
"We used to have so many events [at the hall], like strawberry fetes and dances," she said.
"The events were packed, and they used to have chairs lined up on the sides and the band down the back with amazing acoustics."
Ms Dreckow said after the older generation moved on or passed away, the hall sat idle except for the odd function, until she and a group of local volunteers decided to give the "old girl" a new lease of life.
"It was a lot of work restoring the hall ... but everyone would hear us laughing and having a fun time," she said.
"The doors are from my homestead, so I put them through the thicknesser myself.
"My husband and another friend did other things like the frames, and we actually got the prisoners at Cadell to paint the hall."
After years of renovations and collecting and cleaning stock, the op shop opened its doors for the first time in October, welcoming a steady stream of customers, including some former locals.
"Everyone's laughing, saying, 'How gorgeous is this to be open again' and it means a lot to bring people into the town," Ms Dreckow said.
Mount Mary magic
Walk out of the hall, past a vacant field and you will find the local watering hole, which first opened its doors in 1894.
Hotel owner and publican Donna Manders felt an instant connection to the town when she stumbled upon it while in SA with her family, following a brain tumour diagnosis.
It wasn't long before they made the move from big city life in Melbourne to a quieter life in Mount Mary with "million-star views".
"We were looking for somewhere that was relaxed and off the beaten path and to be honest, I sat out the front in my LandCruiser one day and this place just called my name."
Renovations on the hotel during the COVID-19 pandemic helped the town's revival, alongside Ms Mander's strategy to invest locally.
"We bought houses in Mount Mary and have rented them out to families because we want to bring people back to the outback," she said.
"We want to bring infrastructure back to our town. We want to see people coming in here and enjoying this amazing little place."
When the hotel's chef, fellow Victorian Samuel Beall, was invited by Ms Manders and her family to move interstate to a town he had never heard of, he was pleasantly surprised by the reception he received.
Mr Beall said when he first arrived in town it was two o'clock in the morning.
"A couple of locals actually decided to hang back [at the hotel] for a little while just so they could introduce themselves to me before they went home," he said.
"I walked in expecting to see no-one in the middle of nowhere and there were probably 10 to 15 people all just waiting to introduce themselves. I fell in love with the place straightaway."
As the steady stream of people stopping into Mount Mary continues to grow, Ms Dreckow's next plan is to build a shed next door to the hall.
"I want to put the bric-a-brac and clothing away at night so then we can actually use the hall for functions again," she said.
"It's a tiny place and you wouldn't think that much would be happening, but a lot does and it's home."
