A single mum’s life savings and dreams have been brutally ripped apart, forcing her to live in a van, as the entire Victorian town she called home is being for sale.
Leanne O’Donnell, who poured $400,000 into a caravan park and general store in the privately-owned village of Licola, is now facing homelessness after the Lions Club, owners of the town for over 50 years, terminated her lease.
Four years ago, Ms O’Donnell packed up her two children and moved several hundred kilometres to Licola, a remote community nestled in Victoria’s high country, around 254km from Melbourne.
She quickly became an integral part of the town, investing her life savings into its only general store and caravan park.
MORE NEWS
‘More power to me’: Mum on living in ex’s backyard
‘A luxury’: Woman’s shock at $700 power bill
‘No-brainer’: Renter’s hack to turn rent into flights
Leanne O’Donnell poured $400,000 and heart into the remote town of Licola after leasing its general store and caravan park. Pictures: Licola Caravan Park and General Store/Facebook
However, her dream has turned into a nightmare, with the non-profit Licola Wilderness Village – a camp for disadvantaged children located directly opposite her business – terminating her lease and ordering her to vacate by January 31.
“I’m not seeing a loss. I’m getting by, I’m not making a million, but I love what I do,” Leanne told Yahoo News.
The decision to end Leanne’s lease has sparked huge backlash in Licola and surrounding communities. Picture: Licola Caravan Park and General Store/Facebook
“When you love what you do, the money comes second. I work from my heart, and they’re working from a spreadsheet.
“They’ve got me over a barrel because I invested my life savings into this, and now they just think that they can just come in and take it all away, and I’ve got nothing that I can do about it.”
Licola’s heartbreak: A community’s fight for survival
The devastating decision has not only up-ended Ms O’Donnell’s life, forcing her and her teenage son into a caravan, but has also sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community. Long-term caravanners, some holidaying in Licola for generations, have been told they can no longer pay an annual fee to keep their setups on site.
Adding to the town’s woes, Licola’s only Australia Post box was recently removed, further isolating residents.
The town has been listed with price hopes of around $6m to $10m. Picture: Accom Properties
The town’s church. Picture: Accom Properties
The town has its own power management. Picture: Accom Properties
Ms O’Donnell, who operated the Community Postal Agency, continued trading until Australia Day, but now watches as her business, and the community’s heritage, is dismantled. “Everybody kept saying it’s just a lease ending. Just deal with it, pack and move on. But I am the only shop in town,” she lamented.
“This is like a complete erasure of a business and a community and the heritage of the area.”
The Lions Club of Victoria and southern New South Wales, which has owned the township of Licola since 1969, stated that the decision to sell was “not made lightly”.
The property would be perfect for buyers looking to create a lifestyle venue. Picture: Accom Properties.
In a statement to Yahoo News, a spokesperson cited increasing financial pressures, ageing infrastructure, reduced camp participation, and rising insurance costs as reasons for the sale.
“A recent strategic review found that increasing financial pressures, ageing accommodation and infrastructure, reduced school and camp participation, rising insurance costs and limited capacity for reinvestment have made the current facility-based model unsustainable,” they said.
Own a piece of history
For buyers, Licola is a truly unique proposition.
It’s the only town in Victoria that generates its own power, pumps and treats its own water, and handles its own waste management.
In 2019, the Lions invested $860,000 to switch the camp from diesel generators to solar power, saving roughly $135,000 a year in fuel costs and significantly cutting carbon emissions.
Memorabilia is being removed from the general store. Picture: Facebook
The 34-acre property, originally a bush village, was purchased by the Lions for $20,000 in 1969 after a sawmill fire, transforming it into a wilderness camp for children.
Now, this entire self-sufficient town, including 45 acres of freehold land across five titles, multiple accommodation buildings and program facilities for over 300 people, a 34-site caravan park, the general store, and fuel facilities, is on the market with a price guide of $6m to $10 million.
Ms O’Donnell has launched a go-fund me page in the hope to purchase the town herself.
So far, she’s raised $6,739 raised of her $8m target.
“This fundraiser exists to raise eight million dollars to place a bid to purchase the town of Licola as a whole and keep it community-led, protected from over-polishing, overcommercialisation, or development that erases its soul,” the fundraiser states.
“The long-term vision is community ownership, through a trust or cooperative structure, guided by care, accountability, and the people who love it. Not short-term profit.
“If Licola is lost, it won’t just be buildings that disappear. It will be connection, care, and a way of life that has endured for generations.”
English (US) · 