How tiny Victorian town of Guildford got its groove back

For many years Guildford was a town passed by on the way to somewhere else.

When the school closed in 2017 all it had left was a pub, a general store, and a statue of its famous son, Ron Barassi.

But something strange is happening in Guildford, a tiny hamlet with a population of 330. It is growing and next year its primary school will reopen.

“Everyone is so proud of the town,” Emily Zepnick said.

Ms Zepnick was raised in Guildford and currently works at the general store, which is run by her mother.

When she was growing up she thought of her town with the lip-curling sneer of a teenager: “nothing ever happens here”.