For a tiny town, it has some of the best local gourmet produce on offer for its locals and visitors to enjoy.

Former residents Melissa and Adrian Field returned to Dunkeld after about 20 years, transforming the former newsagency into a gourmet store stocking local produce, organic foods and everyday grocery items. 

“We’ve always come back to visit family and friends so we never lost touch with the area I suppose,” Mrs Field said.

“Since we had kids we’ve thought about coming back.

“We’d spoken about living back this way for a while. We just didn’t know what we’d do, where we’d work. I suppose we bought ourselves a job by buying the business.” 

The pair returned in January 2014 with their sons Charlie, 8, and George, 6, who go to Dunkeld Consolidated School which has an enrolment of about 100 pupils. 

“The kids have embraced it. They both played footy and cricket and have settled really well into school. The school’s a very good school.”

Mrs Field said Dunkeld had a great sense of community and had progressed since she lived in the region, with the help of some passionate new residents. 

“I think there’s a lot of pretty motivated people here with the Serra Terror, which is the big run through the mountains mid-year, and the Discover Dunkeld weekend, which is in October, and the (Dunkeld) races. 

“There’s a lot of people in the community who are really proactive about getting things done which is really good for the town. The months that we’ve been here we’ve seen a lot of younger people move here as well,” she said. 

Mrs Field said the acclaimed Royal Mail Hotel was a drawcard, attracting new employees to the region and visitors who dined at the restaurant.

The new-look general store is targeting visitors and residents seeking quality regional produce. 

“We were in Jan Juc for nine years and ran a cafe and deli in Torquay for four-and-a-half years so we know our meats and cheeses. We know what we like, we’ve eaten enough of them,” she laughed.

“People on holidays always like to take something local, that’s what we do. Once again we’re just doing what we like doing.”