I
N ALMOST FOUR decades as a professional photogra-
pher and 20 years of working with Australian
Geographic, I’ve often been privileged to step,
albeit briefly, into the lives of people from many
different walks of life – remote, rural, industrial,
coastal, urban, Indigenous, wealthy, battling, feral and
just plain peculiar. Experiences that often grab my imag-
ination, and my lens, are those involving unsung local
events in which a bunch of volunteers go to extraordinary
lengths to create some form of themed activity – all in
the name of community.
The capacity of Aussies to dream up colourful and
quirky community events seems limitless. Sometimes
these are sparked by a need to raise funds for worthy
causes such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS),
local fireys or other similarly deserving recipients. Other
times they’re simply inspired by a group of locals with
common interests in anything from horses to music or
Elvis to bacon (yes, really). Even better, from a photogra-
pher’s point of view, few things are more interesting (and
challenging) than documenting ordinary people having
tremendous amounts of fun and demonstrating a vibrant
community spirit.
My book Heart of Australia (published March 2020)
was inspired by a commission I received from South
Australia’s Outback Communities Authority to create
a collection of images of rural life in SA. During an
extensive three-week road trip my wife, Janelle, and I
explored the state, visiting many towns and villages to
create the pictures for the project. In my past as a116 Australian Geographic
photog rapher, I’ve a lways been more interested in la nd-
scapes. But in recent years I’ve gravitated more towards
photographing people, and this assignment gave me
ample opportunity to explore that.
On one occasion I went into a hotel in the small town
of Copley (population 104) and saw a f lyer pinned to
the bar advertising a fundraiser for the RFDS. It was to
be nine holes of golf at a local outback station and,
as luck would have it, the date was the very next day.
I rang up and asked if I could come along, explaining
what I was up to, and was told I’d be welcomed.
Imagine a golf course recently bulldozed through the
scrub with cleared patches of oiled sand and the greens
baking under a blistering sun on a day where the mer-
cury topped 40°C. Then picture a group of people in
fancy dress taking the whole golfing thing very seriously,
as golfers tend to do.
There was a water truck doing the rounds making
sure everyone was well hydrated, as well as a shuttle bus
(a restored vintage Bedford truck) for those who’d suc-
cumbed to the heat and were in need of more serious
rehydration in the form of icy cold beer back at theKINGAROY
BACONFESTKingaroy,
South Burnett, QLD
Late August, for three days
Annually
kingaroybaconfest.com.au
Established 2018This meat-lover’s foodie festival
was founded in 2018 in Kingaroy,
home to one of Australia’s biggest
pork-processing plants – also one
of the town’s biggest employers.
Based at the Kingaroy Town Hall,
BaconFest celebrates all things
pork and the importance of buying
Australian-produced pork.NICK RAINS is a Master Photographer of the
Australian Institute of Professional Photography
who specialises in travel and documentary work.
His first assignment for AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC,
about Lake Eyre in flood, appeared in 2001 (AG 63)
and his most recent was Scenic and serene (AG 136).BrisbaneWinner of the Miss BaconFest beauty pageant,
Audrey Azure, displays her bacon rasher beach towel.