by Lou Tasker

Who would have believed that in the last years of the 19th century the seeds of the village that would become Montville in 1887 were planted, and those few early pioneers were joined by other families. 

This land has an even longer history with First Nations people, who cared for it for some 40,000 years.  

All these peoples come together in a new story, but more on that shortly.

This tiny community, like so many here in the Hinterland, struggled but they struggled together. And as the years turned into decades and the population grew, they were able to reach out more and more.  

As the dirt tracks widened, as the transport grew a little more sophisticated (from walking to horseback to wagon and finally to car in the 1920s – well, one car), people were able to come together more for pleasure so that evenings and weekends could be enjoyed in a community setting.

There were dances and community dinners and people came together to play in thrown together bands for just such events.  Some events were for fund-raising and many were for having fun.

The war years intervened and, through them all, everyone worked hard to help those far away – still fund raising and also knitting, making and baking.

The community spirit was very strong along the Range – everyone looked out for each other and helped where necessary.  

In the latter part of the 20th Century women began to work away from home, and gradually children’s extracurricular activities saw parents busy on weekends, driving from one session to another.

The idea for a bright change started to form during the pandemic, looking for that resilience of community that was being broken down by isolation and masks. 

The Range neighbourhoods needed something to look forward to, harking back to those earlier times of fun and purpose in the community; and now it is almost here.

The Rangebow Festival will celebrate the Range communities with the themes of sustainability, diversity, inclusion and reconciliation.  From 10 to 13 August 2022, we are going to make our own fun – you won’t need to go anywhere else, just like before. So be prepared to bring your creativity, your flair, your sense of excitement, your friends and family to a wonderful inaugural festival – celebrating our community, all of it.

• Be prepared to be delighted and surprised. For more information go to www.therangebowfestival.org/