Lonely farmers in Harrow seek loving partners
Megan McNaught
January 15, 2009 12:00am
THE blokes of Harrow are once again battling a severe drought.
Their paddocks have been dry and dusty for years, but it's a severe shortage of women that they lament over a beer on a Saturday night.
The tiny western Victorian town was the birthplace of the Beaut Blokes festival six years ago, which drew 80 city women to the town each year searching for their rural Romeo.
But two years ago, it became too big. It needed hundreds of hours each year to organise, so the locals had to give it away. Now the predominantly male locals are once again left wondering how and where they will meet Mrs Right.
"You get pretty sick of seeing the same faces down at the local pub - no offence to these boys," laughed miner Jeremy Kelly.
"The ratio of men to women is about 10 to one at the moment, but it drops to 15-1 when the uni holidays end."
Fitter and turner Ben Scholfield said: "Nearly all of the girls move away to go to uni, mostly to Melbourne, but when your work is here there is not much you can do.
"We reckon we are pretty good catches."
Farmer Paul Penrose was one of the original organisers and said the event was perfect for anyone who was tied to the land and couldn't get away to meet new people.
"It was a good fun weekend for everyone. Even people who didn't find romance made new friendships out of it," he said.
Although 800 people will converge on the town this weekend for its Bachelor and Spinster ball, the blokes said it wasn't a place for romance to blossom.
"It is more about drinking. But the Beaut Blokes was about getting to know new people," said shearer Tom Penrose.
Beaut Blokes founder Ange Newton said that to date the event had produced 30 marriages or engagements and about 20 babies.
"I just heard about a new engagement the other day," she said.
It was so successful that it has been replicated across the country, but she said it got too big for locals to continue organising.
She now hopes a government or community organisation will take on the event.
