Regional Development Victoria

Serving up a new community kitchen in Dimboola

05/06/2025

Community events and milestones are set to be bigger and better in Dimboola.

It's thanks to kitchen upgrades at Dimboola Recreation Reserve - home of the Dimboola Roos Football and Netball Club.

Made possible by more than $45,000 from our Tiny Towns Fund, it has transformed the town's only large event space.

Before the upgrade, the kitchen was reaching the end of its lifespan, with old equipment and appliances no longer up to scratch.

This meant catering for community events was a challenge and posed health and safety risks to volunteers.

Those issues are now a thing of the past.

Works at the pavilion have installed:

  • a new oven and bain-maries
  • a commercial dishwasher
  • deep fryers
  • a twin-door fridge
  • display fridges
  • stainless steel benches
  • new sinks.

This has modernised the pavilion, which hosts everything from weddings, funerals and birthday parties to sporting carnivals and fundraising events.

Hayden Eldridge, President of the Dimboola Football and Netball Club, said the upgrades would support the club's growth.

'It's giving us the opportunity to branch out to other community groups for private and business functions,' he said.

This will increase rental revenue and help promote local businesses.

The new kitchen also gives locals a place to gather and foster those all-important community connections and bonds.

The partnership between Government and community has also made this happen faster.

'Without the Tiny Towns grant, this project would have taken many years to achieve,' said Hayden.

The upgrade works form part of our record support for projects across rural and regional Victoria. They continue to make regional towns and cities even better places to live, work, stay and play.

We also recently invested $400,000 to upgrade the nearby Riverside Holiday Park, so that more people can stay along the Wimmera River and enjoy Dimboola and surrounds.

These investments mean more locals have jobs close to home, more communities have the infrastructure they need to thrive, and more visitors can experience everything the regions have to offer.

Learn more about the Tiny Towns Fund.