The small Victorian tourist town of Porepunkah, home to just over 1,000 residents, has faced challenging months recently. However, a sense of normalcy and hope is gradually returning for the community and its local businesses.

With the busy winter holiday season on the horizon, plans were well underway. Cabins were reserved, road trips were mapped out, and the town was gearing up to welcome an influx of eager tourists, drawn by the promise of a vibrant snow season.

Narelle and Mark Gray, managers of Porepunkah Pines Holiday Park, were bracing for a bustling period, anticipating a surge in visitors eager to enjoy the winter festivities.

However, following a shooting incident that required police intervention, the Grays made the difficult decision to temporarily close their accommodations to aid Victoria Police during the initial aftermath.

“We closed for the first eight days,” Narelle explained. “But eventually, we realized that we couldn’t remain closed indefinitely.”

Pepo Farms owner and president of the Bright and District Chamber of Commerce Marcus Warner described the impact of the shutdown and tourist lockout in Porepunkah as “worse than COVID”.

“Overnight, cash flow just stopped and businesses ground to a halt. We weren’t expecting it, probably didn’t have the cash reserves they do today or that they might have had during COVID because of the cost of living crisis.”

Warner said businesses were “on their knees” after just a few weeks.

Residents and business owners did their best to support police as they searched for Freeman, and an emergency funding package helped keep many people afloat.

“We lost thousands and thousands of dollars. I had to lay off our casual staff,” Warner said.

“It was very evident that the community was hurting on every level.”

As the weeks turned into months without any arrests, Porepunkah felt the strain.

Mount Buffalo National Park – a popular destination for tourists passing through the town – became the hot zone for police operations, making it difficult for Porepunkah to return to normal.

The town is resilient, though.

Visitors and supporters alike helped lift up residents during the darkest times. Now, it is almost business as usual.

“People are all starting to come back, the phones are busy again,” Narelle said.

“Visitors are definitely wanting to come back.”

But she said Porepunkah is still missing closure.

Since August 26, Freeman has not been sighted and police have not been able to confirm if he is dead or alive.

“Whether we’re going to get that [closure] or not, we don’t know,” she said.

“As the police operation unfolded, we realised they were here for the long-term,” Warner added.

“We tried to get on with our lives as normal. We felt as safe as we’ve ever felt. 

“Once the tourists started to return, it did raise a significant amount of goodwill and mood once we started seeing people returning to our towns.”

Both business owners expect 2026 to be a bumper tourist year for Porepunkah.

The small town needs support and the bookings have already proved Australian travellers are willing to spend their cash to help it thrive again.

“We are a tight-knit community,” Warner said.

“We’ve been through a lot, and I think as usual, we’ll come out of this stronger.”