SOFALA village fairly bustles on a Sunday, its narrow main street presenting newcomers parking conundrums.
Most get out and walk through the main business hub. Sandy and Marty Tomkinson run the pub and have done so for 50 years.
Before that Sandy’s parents owned it. Marty rocked into town in 1968, en route to Papua New Guinea for a posting as a patrol officer.
He never made it, he met Sandy and has called Sofala home ever since.
A couple of weeks ago the Turon River, which Marty and Sandy pump water from to run the Royal Hotel ran dry. It’s been a long, dry stretch, and nobody can remember a time this bad.
“It was bad 35 years ago, but then we could excavate the river bed and get to the underground water,” said Mr Tomkinson.
“Contractors won’t touch a river now,” he said, “there’s so many permits needed and then the occupational health and safety laws come into it.”
The pub has had a continual licence since 1862.
“Basically now, we’re in limbo,” said Mr Tomkinson.
“I think really it’s council’s reponsibility to provide water to the township and they have offered to sell us water,” he said. But carting it is a prohibitive cost.
“We’re running into Bathurst to do laundry at the moment,” said Mr Tomkinson, “but I think Bathurst Regional Council would rather forget we’re here.”
It’s a situation Mr Tomkinson would sadden former councillor K ath Knowles, who helped steer the ship during the creation of Bathurst Regional Council, way back in 2004.At the time she said the formation of the much larger regional local government area would benefit the villages as much as the administrative centre of Bathurst City.
Ms Knowles was “brilliant,” he said, “if she told you something she meant it”.
Council’s director of engineering Darren Sturgiss said the extended period of dry weather had impacted many residents and landholders.
“Council sells potable water from the standpipes in Hereford St which can be accessed by residents for use and storage in their on-site water tanks,” he said.
“Rural residents are also able to source potable water from licensed water contractors.” Mr Tomkinson said what made the situation seem worse was that in the past two weeks he has received his council rates notice and a bill from NSW Water for his commercial water licence.
