‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.’ – Bilbo Baggins

Recently, our Website Manager Meg Hellyer journeyed from the Gully and across the ditch to Hobbiton in New Zealand!

Readers may remember our story in our June 2020 edition. We pondered whether there might be hobbits in the Gully, after mapmaker Adam Mattinson drew a Lord of the Rings-inspired map of the Dandenongs. (There is also a copy of this map displayed as a mural at Emerald Library).

Afterall, local residents of the foothills (or Fern Tree Gully Shire) are not so different to those of The Shire in Middle Earth. We share a love of good food, spending time with good friends, and enjoying our local festivities, such as the Knox Festival in March. We also enjoy the leafy greenery and magic of the hills around us.

It was wonderful to camp in the national parks of New Zealand, but it’s always good to come home to the Gully. The road goes ever on and on…

Where have you taken Gully News Around the World? Send us your photos at gullynews@gmail.com for inclusion in the paper and website.

Meg Hellyer