A country town's only general store was about to go under, so locals stepped in to save it. Almost 200 people, from a population of just 500 have bought the general store in the Western New South Wales town of Cumnock. Locals say without it they would have been left with nothing and they had no choice but to act.
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00:00 Gutting a 141-year-old building is no easy task.
00:07 I think we underestimated it. We knew that it was going to be a lot of work, but it is
00:15 literally just being emptied.
00:18 Almost a third of Cumnock residents have committed to breathing new life into an old neighbour.
00:24 And we really want to bring it back to its glory days.
00:27 The Cumnock General Store had been on the market for three years, and locals were getting nervous about its future.
00:34 What's the heart of the town without it? There'd be nothing. No reason for people to stop.
00:40 So it was something that really needed to stay open.
00:43 Sarah Haynes and some other residents issued a call-out and nearly 200 responded,
00:50 pledging at least $1,000 each for store membership.
00:54 Another committee raised a further $100,000.
00:58 I think I can scan these.
01:00 Members can volunteer to work at the store to keep staff costs down.
01:04 It was actually quite a heartfelt experience for a lot of us to see how amazing our community is.
01:11 If we didn't do it, we weren't going to have it. And if the community didn't step up, we wouldn't be here today.
01:17 Even the preschool pitched in.
01:19 The kids couldn't imagine their town without the store.
01:22 They love coming after school to grab an ice block or a hot choccy,
01:26 or we come over and grab baby chinos and things like that throughout the week, so they were so excited.
01:32 The store combines a grocer and post office, and there are plans to include an expanded cafe and event space.
01:39 It's certainly making us feel very proud that we've now got it and it's open and it's onward and upward from here.
01:46 A little town with big ambitions.
01:49 [no dialogue]