Photo: Wayne and Cath Finn have taken over from Bernadette and David Frazier.
After 11 years welcoming travellers to Gulargambone, caravan park owners David and Bernadette Frazier have handed over the keys.
The couple, now in their 70s, are making the most of retirement and returning to the “caravan life” they led before they bought the park.
Queenslanders Wayne and Cath Finn took over the park in May.
“We’re packing up our own van and getting ready to do some miles around the place, see what’s going on and just to enjoy life while we can,” Dave said.
“We’re not fussed about being in big places, being up and down the coast where it’s totally crowded.
“Everyone has come through this way and supported us over those years, so we’re more than happy to just go and support the other little communities that are around the country.
“In some places you’ve got things going on and others have nothing, but you try and make the most of it.”
Dave and Bernadette bought the park in November 2013 from Graham and Pam Carroll.
The couple became heavily involved in the community, joining groups such as the Lions Club, the Gulargambone Community Enterprises Co-op, which organises the Pave the Way Festival, and the Gular Bowling Club.
At the park, the couple added “bits and pieces” including camp oven meals and an extra accommodation block.
Word soon spread about their ‘happy hour’, camp oven meals and legendary hospitality, with some visitors who came for ‘a few days’ staying for weeks and sometimes months each year.
They took their guests with them to local events and organised craft days with elderly residents at Gulargambone Hospital and the annual Pigeon Calcutta at the club, plus race days and the annual show.
The Fraziers also worked with local landowners to organise farm tours.
The business’ growth saw David & Bernadette attract hundreds of nominations in the Coonamble District Business Excellence Awards and becoming serial winners over a number of years.
The park survived COVID “really well,” but the 2021 mouse plague forced them to get rid of the their alpacas because the vermin were attracted to their feed.
New owners Wayne and Cath saw the park for sale online and, after coming to Gular for a look, decided to sell their car tyre and mechanical business in Tin Can Bay near the Sunshine Coast and come out west.
“We needed a sea change, so to speak,” said Cath, who is originally from Moss Vale and worked as a school teacher.
“We were in Wagga for a while and then we moved to Queensland because it was too cold, but now we’ve come back to the cold.”
The newcomers have plans to install more cabins and caravan sites, and have begun tidying the garden area, where they want to plant roses.
The pair said they want to stay for at least 12 years.
“It’s a nice, quiet town. That’s what we came down here for,” said Wayne.
Wayne is originally from Maroubra and is a panel beater and spray painter by trade.