‘Patria’

Patria: (n), one’s native country or homeland 

A country town is a multilayered identity. The people, the landscapes, the buildings and the history intertwine to create a place of comfort and safety for its residents. There is a sense of contentment when returning to the place that you have called home for nineteen years. Coming back to the familiar smiling faces and the endless, picturesque landscapes that surround it. 

Lancefield, located in the Macedon Ranges, home to almost three thousand people, is a small, welcoming town where I have lived my whole life. I know the roads like the back of my hand, and some of the people that I know today have known me since I was nine months old. That intimacy isn’t found in a bustling suburb of twenty thousand people. 

No matter where I end up in life, there will always be a part of my little country town in me. It is the place that has helped me grow, provided me with a safe haven and guided me into the wider world. Each eccentricity of Lancefield holds a story and has crafted the town into the unique place that it is.