With fuel prices climbing as conflict in the Middle East continues, a regional Victorian pub has found a practical way to lift spirits and ease the strain on households already doing it tough. The Tallarook Hotel has replaced its usual weekly meat raffle with a giveaway many locals say is more valuable right now: a 20L jerry can of diesel, drawn every Friday night.
To enter, patrons simply need to visit the pub between 4pm and 7pm, buy something, and they will receive a raffle ticket. The first draw was held on Friday night and, according to owner James Carlin, it drew a strong crowd in a community that has had a difficult run in recent months, including bushfire impacts and now the added pressure of high fuel costs.
“We don’t have public transport out here. So the commodity that’s probably most valuable at the moment is diesel,” Carlin said. “I was sitting there the other day and I thought why not? Why not give something back and give make a bit of fun out of a bad situation.”
The first winner was a local man named Jim Greedy, and Carlin said the prize couldn’t have come at a better time. “He’s just rapt,” he said. “I saw him the next day actually, he was in with some other friends of his and he just thought it was great because he had some driving to do on the Saturday, and he dropped it back in on Saturday after he’d done his round trip, and it paid for his driving.”
Greedy later posted his thanks online, writing: “Thanks to the Tallarook Hotel, great service from the staff and a super meal. “The fuel was a bonus in the times we are in. I’ll be back.”
The giveaway has also inspired others to pitch in. Carlin said a member of the community dropped off fuel on Saturday to be used for a future draw. “Someone said ‘hey I’ll donate it for next week’ and they left a jerry can full of 20 litres of diesel,” he said.
Carlin, who also runs Latitude37 Pubs, said the cost of filling the jerry can has become an example in itself of how quickly prices are moving. He said petrol was $2.89 a litre when he filled up for the first raffle, and he has seen fuel go past $3 a litre locally.
“The world at the moment is crazy. A little bit of kindness, a little bit of fun goes a long way,” he said. “And a pub is a community place for everyone, and it’s nice to have a bit of fun.”
The diesel raffle is set to expand to Carlin’s other venues, including the Tooborac Hotel, the Prince of Wales Hotel in Seymour, the Broadford Hotel and the Country Club Hotel in Yea. There is one catch for winners: the jerry can needs to be returned so it can be filled again for the next draw.
Carlin is also encouraging people, if they can, to visit regional towns where many local businesses are doing it hard. “We love people visiting our towns, our bakeries, our pubs, our rivers and creeks and campsites and so forth,” he said. “But what we’re seeing at the moment … it’s hard and expensive for (people) to come out, but we’d love to see everyone come out and Easter. “You’re always welcome. A country pub is a safe place to drop in and have a yarn.”
