As a sole ute trundles up the main street in the country town of Rosedale, you could be fooled into thinking it's just another small, sleepy Queensland village.
But inside the pub, church, cafe and shops, big ideas are brewing.
An influx of new residents is bringing renewed enthusiasm to rejuvenate the town — which still has fewer than 500 people — between Bundaberg and Agnes Water.
In the past 18 months, new pastors, publicans and shop owners have made Rosedale their home, bucking the trend of rural decline and showing how embracing change can lift a community from surviving to thriving.
The pastor
Dave and Shelly Drage moved from the Gulf of Carpentaria after purchasing Little Memorial St John's Church in April 2021.
"We didn't have any expectation on what the reception was going to be," Pastor Drage said.
The almost 100-year-old church had closed after the previous Baptist Minister died in 2020, but now boasts a congregation of about 120 people.
But the pastor said community was about more than just the church.
"There's other players within the local township that are important, such as the local pub," he said.
"Which sounds a bit weird — the local pastor saying how important the local pub is.
"From a social perspective, the pub does a lot of good stuff."
Pastor Drage said he was "definitely seeing revival" in Rosedale.
"With the local coffee shop, with the local pub, the hardware, the SES and the rural firies — we're all in it together," he said.
The publican
A faded sign and the promise of cold beer welcomes travellers from the edge of town to the Rosedale Hotel.
Inside, a dark timber bar stretches across the room as memorabilia crowds the walls.
It's home to Dee Simm and her husband Mike, who took over the pub and caravan park in September 2022.
Originally, the pair from regional Victoria had their hearts set on a hotel in Far North Queensland.
"We did our pros and cons, and we actually had more pros for the Rosedale hotel," Ms Simm said.
"Fast forward to September and here we are in Rosedale.
"We've been very well received by the community."
She said new people had led to renewed enthusiasm for the "beautiful little community".
"We've certainly had a lot of new people come into town, obviously including us," she said.
"People do have new ideas, and they want to do things and help the community and get the community growing, so let's hope they come to fruition and we see Rosedale rise and shine."
'New life'
A bright white shop with black trim at the end of the main road stands out among the weathered buildings.
It's owned by the Clendon family, who relocated from Melbourne and opened Clenwood Farmhouse in September last year.
Phil Clendon said they wanted to move to improve the family's physical and mental health.
"To give the children a better life, more in touch with the community, as well as with sustainability for ourselves," he said.
Mr Clendon said he chose Rosedale because it was affordable and "felt right".
"It was a leap of faith," he said.
For his teenage daughter Natasha, Rosedale was "certainly different".
"Moving from the suburbs to somewhere — I would claim — in the middle of nowhere has been a bit difficult," she said.
"But I've slowly gotten the hang of it, seeing what's around here and getting more involved."
Mr Clendon said the family was part of the wave of new people and ideas.
"It feels like when we came here it was old, tired, quite lifeless," he said.
"The people that are slowly moving to the area are breathing new life into the community.
"Where people felt that it was a 'going nowhere' situation [in the town] ... slowly we're finding more people are getting involved in community projects, getting involved with events.
"Rejuvenation is probably the best word to describe it."
Volunteer numbers up
Ronnie Cheeseman has run the local hardware store since 2018 and said the town had transformed.
"[I've seen] a lot of changes with new people coming through, especially since COVID, a lot of people from down south moving up," he said.
Mr Cheeseman said it was "great" new residents were eager to be involved.
"I'm also a member of the local fire brigade so we've seen an influx of people wanting to join up," he said.
"The local hall has got more people coming into the committee, the SES is getting new members.
"A whole lot of people are moving up here and they just want to get involved."
