Over the first weekend in August, Maldon played host to the second Goldfields Gothic Festival of Dark Ideas. The events were well attended and brought hundreds of visitors into town, many of whom had never visited Maldon before.
So, what’s next for Goldfields Gothic? “Unfortunately, the current economic situation and lack of resources means there is uncertainty about the future of the event,” said Festival Director Valentina Tansley. “Just like our friends at Dark Mofo, we’ve found the existing business model for Goldfields Gothic doesn’t work in the present environment.”
Hobart’s popular winter tourist drawcard, Dark Mofo, has been cancelled for 2024, with festival organisers saying they hope the period of renewal will set it up for a full return in 2025.
Rising costs, alongside a lack of funding, has forced the cancellation of Geelong’s iconic Gala Day, which puts an end to more than a century of tradition.
Social researcher Hugh Mackay has been monitoring Australian attitudes and lifestyle habits for six decades.
Dr Mackay says the main change has been a withdrawal from community involvement caused by an increase in the use of social media to stay ‘connected’.
“We’ve also become too ‘busy’ – the enemy of volunteering, because as long as we can convince ourselves we’re too busy to help other people, we can get away with it – we have made being busy a virtue.”
Committing to anything long-term is an issue, no matter the age group. Many say they are happy to help out, but reluctant to join up to anything that requires a weekly meeting or a long-term program.
‘Goth’, Maldon Inc (the business association of Maldon), and Maldon Vintage Machinery & Museum (MVMM) have been in discussions to start to explore the whats, whys, whens, hows…
Secretary of MVMM Peter Thompson said he has been in discussion with volunteers as well as some Goldfield Gothic people to see what can be done to keep the 2024 Goth Picnic and Australian Hearse Nationals events as strong and as popular as ever, “Here in Maldon.”
“We’re still keen to work with the community, and we’re looking forward to finding a different way to bring a taste of GG to Maldon in 2024,” said Valentina.
Watch this space.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 6 October 2023.
