General News
29 October, 2025
Tour group enjoys lunch and Mallee music in Hopetoun
A group of travellers on a Wimmera-Mallee Silo Art and Mungo National Park tour stopped in Hopetoun for lunch on Monday, October 20, enjoying local flavours and original live music at the Hopetoun Community Hotel Motel.
It was the 20th bus tour luncheon hosted by licensees Stephen and Joy McCullough since taking over the pub in August 2022.
Each event has featured local singer-songwriter Maurice Conway performing his distinctive Mallee-inspired songs. This tradition began when Steve first invited him to play his songs for the visitors.
The performances have since become a highlight for visitors exploring the Silo Art Trail, with Mr Conway’s music offering stories and sounds that connect directly to the region’s identity.
Tour director Shelley Arcus said the group was travelling on a seven day trip from Rye on the Mornington Peninsula through Shepparton, Mildura and Mungo National Park before making their way south through Hopetoun and Horsham.
“This tour is a specific Mungo National Park and Silo Art tour,” she said.
“We started in Rye, went through Shepparton and Mildura, did Mungo, and we’re on our way back down through here (Hopetoun) to Horsham before heading home.”
She said the tours regularly include stops in Hopetoun due to its hospitality and charm.
“We probably come up a few times a year,” she said.
“The food’s great, the people are friendly, and the community spirit is just awesome.
“Amazingly, people volunteer to clean public toilets and other places, so visitors have a good experience and that’s something you just don’t see everywhere.”
This week’s coach carried 19 passengers, including 18 from Victoria and one each from India and New Zealand.
“We keep our groups small so everyone’s comfortable, we could take 30, but we prefer to give people room to move and relax,” she said.
She said visitors always enjoy the mix of art, landscape and local interaction.
“People really love when they get to meet locals and that’s what makes these towns special,” she said.
“Sometimes we even get to see artists painting silos, like we did in Wycheproof recently.
“Those moments stay with people.”
Mrs Arcus confirmed this was the last Hopetoun stop for the year.
“We’ll be back next year for sure,” she said. “
We usually do tours early and late in the year.
“It’s always a favourite stop along the way.”