It’s little wonder the small Victorian town of Watchem is one of the poorest in Australia.
Practically no-one among its population of 114 has a job.
The latest taxation statistics for 2016-17 recorded Watchem residents as having the third-lowest average income in the country at $24,346.
It is a far cry from the wealth and prosperity of Melbourne, just 300km away, where the blue-chip suburbs of Hawksburn and Toorak have average taxable incomes of $193,904 – the second-highest in the nation.
Shop owner Patricia Presley operates the local shop in Watchem. She has been there for 11 years and wonders how long she can keep going
A rundown home in Watchem is not unfamiliar. This one still had Christmas decorations scattered along its porch. It begged for ‘Santa to Stop Here’, but it’s unlikely he did
Not the Highway to Hell, but the highway to Watchem. The roads to Watchem are long and straight and there is nothing to look at but flat, dry terrain and clear blue skies
Shop owner Patricia Presley is among the few who not only has a job, but is on the town’s ‘top earners’ list.
Situated about four hours drive northwest of Melbourne, up the Sunrayisia Highway, the township of Watchem could be easy missed, and even more easily forgotten.
A plaque situated in a park where very few children play, states Watchem was established in 1876.
The railway and school opened in 1893, and the ‘rising township’ with a population of 200 boasted a hotel, store and church.
Back in its hey day, Watchem (thought to be named after an Aboriginal word meaning place where hop bush grows) was no doubt a land of hope.
It still has hope. Just not much of it.
At the age of 61, Mrs Presley said much of Watchem was made up of retirees and the unemployed.
One elderly resident, who like many of those approached by Daily Mail Australia did not wished to be named, said he didn’t know anyone else who had a job apart from Mrs Presley, her husband Sam and the publican.
He said most of those in town were pensioners, and the others were ‘mental cases’.
Stories around town speak of a man who loves cars and has a temper as hot as the engine of freshly thrashed VL Commodore.
Another feisty character has a love of chainsaws.
‘I’m here. I enjoy it. I’ve got good friends I’ve known for 20 years around the town. We do alright,’ the old timer said.
The riff raff had been in Watchem ‘forever’.
‘But they’re easy dealt with, you know what I mean, but I’m not saying nothing,’ he said. ‘It’s a good place.’
The locals are wary of outsiders and the negative press about Watchem.
A report last year placed the suspected killer of Jane Thurgood-Dove – a mother of three who was murdered in 1987 outside her Niddrie home in a case of mistaken identity – dead smack in their neighbourhood.
The bloke who allegedly organised the hit reportedly lived in Watchem.
But people in Watchem claim to know nothing about him.
To be fair, most of the locals claim to know nothing about anything.
The destroyed remains of Watchem’s old bakery. The property appears to have been recently sold, but locals say the buyer remains a mystery
Watchem is only 300km from Melbourne but a world away from the wealth and prosperity of the Victorian capital
A SOLD sign on the main shopping strip of Watchem. Reporters had gathered in the town to report the unusual sale of half of the town. Its buyer remains a mystery
Entering Watchem is like driving into an eerie experience.
Mrs Presley claimed someone could dance down the main road naked and nobody would ever see it, or notice them.
Most of the homes are in various states of disrepair.
Some have their house numbers simply painted on them, while other’s look like they belong in the ghettos of the Bronx.
A bonfire-in-the-waiting is literally sitting in the back of one yard.
The few shops the town had are derelict and falling apart.
Although an old bakery, post office, butcher and a house that was advertised for just $49,000 appeared to have been recently sold.
The local primary school is over grown and depressing.
A dog barks mysteriously from within it’s main structure, as if guarding the ghosts of long gone children.
The town is deathly quiet.
If not for the barking dog, and the distant echo of someone pounding a hammer, all that could be heard was the warble of magpies.
It’s town hall is minus half of its roof and is in the middle of a repair job.
The most prestigious structure in the town is the church, but even that appeared abandoned.
The church in Watchem is the most magnificent building in the town. It has a lonely presence and is probably haunted
Welcome to Watchem: Graffiti celebrating the 1986 of the Watchem 2nds remains on a large silo outside of town
This Watchem resident is obviously keen to get his eBay deliveries without a hassle. The owner has painted the number of his house on materials stuck to the front of the home
In need of a paint job: Many Watchem homes are in need of some tender love and care. The town is all but deserted on a warm Wednesday in April
It’s as if the town hadn’t enjoyed a real party since 1986, when the Watchem 2nds won the footy premiership.
The victory is proudly painted on the towering silos that mark the entrance to the township.
Upon entering, visitors are greeted by a shopping strip with deserted shops, an overgrown lawn bowls green and a children’s playground.
A bowls club that would have once been the pride of the town now lays in ruin – old and tired like most of everything else around it.
The fence of the playground is dedicated to Kate Lyons – ‘a tribute to the Persistence of a Lovely Lady’.
About eight children remain in Watchem.
A dog was heard barking from inside the abandoned Watchem Primary School. Only eight kids remain in the little town
Once a thriving school playground, the basketball court at Watchem Primary looked like it hadn’t seen any action in quite some time
The primary school is long gone and they all need to travel to the neighbouring town of Birchip for an education.
There is only one bus stop – and the bus won’t take anyone anywhere apart from Melbourne.
A man named Steve wished it would.
Without a licence, he was stuck in Watchem.
Steve points out the town is not without its charms and he’s right when he mentions the nearby Watchem Lake as a point of pride.
It’s a nice spot and an elderly couple could be seen fishing from its banks that afternoon.
It also has a decent sized public swimming pool, but like everything else in Watchem, it’s seen better days.
Originally from a suburb of Sydney, Steve had lived in Brisbane and spent time on the streets before ending up in Watchem.
He assured Watchem was not full of criminals running from the law.
Steve was a father and like many in Watchem, out of work.
‘We look after each other here,’ he said.
Mrs Presley along with her postman husband appear to act as some sort of mayors of the town.
They have been running the local shop for 11 years.
Mrs Presley worries about her appearance and pointed to a photo of herself when she was ‘young and beautiful’.
Rusted cars sit outside a rusted house in Watchem. The town has been listed as among the poorest in Australia
A set of swings next to a brightly painted building. The colourful structure is a beacon of joy among a pretty depressing-looking town
The Watchem Bowls Club is overgrown and has a small boat sitting in it. It’s been a long time since anyone had a roll here
Also hailing from Brisbane, she originally operated a shop in the bustling country town of Donald before moving to Watchem.
‘When we came here there was no shop. The shop was closed down,’ she said.
People begged the couple to open it again.
The shop, like most other things in Watchem, was a wreck.
‘We cleaned it up. Painted the inside white. This shop was so dirty. Nothing was here – not a cup or spoon. Empty,’ she said.
Today the small shop is brimming with household essentials, such as milk, coffee and BBQ Shapes.
‘I earn just enough to keep going,’ Mrs Presley said.
It’s a thankless job, but the couple remain dedicated to supplying the town folk.
‘I go and buy stuff on special and I sell it at its original price. It’s still cheap, you know,’ she said. ‘I tell customers “I go there and it costs me petrol”. There’s no profit. Sometimes I go there and I put gas in the car and you try to take the money out from the profit for the gas and it doesn’t pay you.’
The Watchem Hotel was closed for lunch on a Wednesday but is popular among locals. Solar panels can be seen all over it’s roof
The old National Australia Bank remains locked up tight. It was among a strip of shops that appear to have been recently sold in Watchem
Patrica Presley inside her Watchem shop. She and her husband restored the wreck after locals begged them to open up a shop. Still, they make just enough to survive
A stone’s throw from Mrs Presley shop is the hotel. At 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon, it remains shut.
Mrs Presley said the pub was battling as hard as her business was.
‘Some farmers like a drink. They come and have a few and then they go home,’ she said.
While Mrs Presley and her husband plan to stay on in Watchem, they worry about their future as they get older.
Her 67-year old husband takes home $1,500 a month while Mrs Presley makes $30,000 a year – above the postcode average.
She used to make do with $12,000 a year.
‘That’s less than pension money,’ she said.