A Town Divided
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382115)
Rockingham, Australia
January 10, 2017 2:05am CST
I have sometimes mentioned that small towns in Western Australia try to come up with innovative ways to attract the tourist dollar. So Cowaramup has its fibreglass cows, Donnybrook has a giant playground and Balingup has painted totems and medieval figures splattered around the town.
The bigger seaside towns don't need to go to such extremes. They are crowded every summer and the locals can be heard complaining about the increased traffic, the decreased parking and the boorishness of some visitors. But by and large most appreciate that the tourists are needed to keep the economy flowing and they put up with various festivals and entertainments designed to attract outsiders.
The little coastal town of Denmark does not follow this general pattern. They are a community divided. Half are busily electing people to their council who will veto festivals and fairs. This group believe they get along quite well without the tourist dollar and they'd like to restore their town to the nice, quiet little backwater that it once was.
It's an interesting question don't you think? Get big and get busy, maybe make heaps of money or keep quiet about your attractions and enjoy a quiet, peaceful life.
Despite the evidence to the contrary, the dance of the pelicans of Denmark was not choreographed. Some of you will have seen it before but I thought it was worth another exposure.
16 people like this
16 responses
@WorDazza (15826)
• Manchester, England
10 Jan 17
There must be a sweet spot. You need the number and quality of attractions that will attract a reasonable number of the 'right sort' of people so money is brought into the town without any of the problems associated with a huge influx of misbehaving tourists.
Actually! Scrap that.
Go the whole hog. Fairground rides, amusement arcades, fish and chips, candy floss, tacky souvenir shops and kiss-me-quick hats. You can't beat a bit of tack at the seaside!!
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
11 Jan 17
@JudyEv Australia is considered very advance in casino liberation!
For us here in Singapore, it really takes ages for parliament to approve casinos in the country.
Japan is even slower! They have yet to have a single casino.
I think Thailand will never have a casino because of the state religion.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
11 Jan 17
All wise think alike but fools never disagree. So there you are. There is bound to be clashes of thought. I am for a not too noisy set up and that explains why we shifted from the city to a semi rural town.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
11 Jan 17
@JudyEv We have educational institutes here and we see many foreigners flocking. We have hospitals - state of the art - and the place is seeing development in every sphere. I love this place. The only bad thing is jungles are getting replaced with concrete jungles
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382115)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
@allknowing That's what happens. And to a degree it needs to happen if the rest of the stuff is to advance and become better.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
10 Jan 17
as nice as it would be, bad idea, that tourist money is really imp, towns without it find themselves struggling
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43602)
• Denver, Colorado
10 Jan 17
We are a tourist town, and a lot of the residents can't stand the tourists. I don't understand it, but they don't.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43602)
• Denver, Colorado
11 Jan 17
@JudyEv - True. But Manitou has been a tourist town for years and years. They knew this when they moved here.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
10 Jan 17
Quite an interesting post. 
Tourism is one of the major sources of revenue and foreign exchange so every Government or authorities keep making efforts to attract more and more tourists. You are right that when tourists throng a place, it gets commercialized and the place loses its identity and serenity.
Tourism is one of the major sources of revenue and foreign exchange so every Government or authorities keep making efforts to attract more and more tourists. You are right that when tourists throng a place, it gets commercialized and the place loses its identity and serenity.1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382115)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Jan 17
It's a catch 22 situation isn't it? We love going overseas and being a tourist but sometimes it palls for us because there are so many people. When we drove through Europe we mostly kept to the back roads and we avoided the motorways. That was the best choice for us.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
11 Jan 17
@JudyEv Yes, when we go to a place as a tourist, we want to go to a quite place but we find there are many like us, who have come there as tourists in pursuit of peace and consequently the place becomes crowded.
You did the correct thing on your Europe tour and went through little known streets.
@snowy22315 (208962)
• United States
13 Feb 17
Too bad a suitable compromise couldn't be reached that would satisfy everyone.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382115)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Feb 17
Yes, it is. The town authorities have had some right royal battles over should and shouldn't be done or allowed or whatever.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
10 Jan 17
I'd like the quiet, peaceful town..
I've been to a couple towns that have built up the tourist attractions, and I didn't like them. I expected something different, like historical stuff or small town atmosphere, instead I saw huge shops and tourist attractions and it felt all wrong.
Then we've been to some places that do get a lot of tourists but they've still stuck to their roots and the town still has the small town feel... I like those a lot better! If I wanted touristy I'd go to the big cities, not the small towns!
1 person likes this
@averygirl72 (38848)
• Philippines
11 Jan 17
Some enjoy living in a place visited by tourist. They come alive with people and they are also earning money. There are wonderful attractions too to enjoy
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (14789)
• Ireland
10 Jan 17
@judyev Dancing pelicans are always worth it. When I lived in Portrush (N coast ) I loved it when August ended and holiday makers vanished. It was wonderfully quiet all winter long but now it's a year long frenzy of day trippers and drunken oiks .
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382115)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Jan 17
I can totally understand. One historic place we used to visit and have the run of now has fences and signs everywhere. It seems totally destroyed to me and I'm quite resentful about it. It was a magical place and we were friends with those who were sort of caretaking it. Of course, it is only fair that others should enjoy it too but sometimes I don't feel that generous. I just wish they'd all go home.
1 person likes this
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
10 Jan 17
It could be a very beautiful sight; the dancing pelicans.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382115)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
You don't see them like this but a fisherman was throwing them fish.
@JudyEv (382115)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
There are some here whose posts I try not to miss but it is easy for some to slip by unnoticed so it probably doesn't matter too much if a particular photo is aired more than once.
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
10 Jan 17
It seems that even the most serene, peaceful place would eventually make its way to Facebook somehow. It's hard to actually "keep quiet" about such attractions these days 
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
10 Jan 17
I don't think the pelicans are dancing but "rioting" the presence of annoying humans.
1 person likes this
