Passionate volunteers have been rewarded for their efforts in establishing an RV Park in their township with a gold medal from the national Grey Nomad Awards.

First conceived in 2020 with the backing of local support and Drought Communities funding, the Booleroo Centre RV Park was created to give visitors a reason to stop in the small Southern Flinders Ranges town near Mount Remarkable.

One of the volunteers involved in the project, Emma Waters, nominated the park for the Grey Nomad Awards in 2021 and ’22.

“The park was to enable us to share our quiet little piece of the world with others,” Emma said.

Booleroo Centre also contains the largest collection of steam and traction engines in Australia at the Booleroo Steam and Traction Preservation Society Museum.

The Grey Nomad Awards have been running since 2018 as a way of recognising communities and townships that cater for Australia’s caravanning retirees.

Grey Nomad Award Director, Liz Rivvers, said the judges were particularly impressed by the amount of work done by a volunteer crew in such a short period of time in Booleroo Centre.

“It’s a group of passionate locals who went, ‘how do we make our little town in the Southern Flinders Ranges stand out?’” Rivvers said.

The park was a national finalist in the ‘Best Grey Nomad Community Stay’ category in 2021.

The meteoric rise of the Booleroo Centre RV Park continued in 2022 with the volunteer team continuing to expand and improve the campsite.

“One of the criteria we are looking for are things that will make the lives of grey nomads happier, healthier, and safer,” Rivvers said.

In the two years since the park opened, the team at Booleroo RV Park have built infrastructure for RV’s, powered their sites, and established modern amenities.

When Emma Waters submitted the park for review by the awards again in 2022, the community’s ongoing efforts paid off and the judges gave the park first place in its category.

The Booleroo Steam and Traction Preservation Society Museum was also nominated and received bronze in the historic attraction category.

Waters says that the Grey Nomad Awards have been great for the community, and that business at the RV park has taken off over the last two years.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity that arose for us to be able to create this,” Waters said.

The Grey Nomad Awards have also recognised the South Australian town of Kimba, inducting the Eyre Peninsula locale into its Hall of Fame.

Words: Camillo Malacari