A MOUNT Gambier man has slammed a social media competition which has labelled the city a “sh*t town”.
Mount Gambier will face-off against Dubbo in the semi-finals of the “sh*t town showdown” – a competition involving a series of polls on a satire Facebook page with more than 160,000 followers.
Patrick Gorback – a city resident for over 45 years – was appalled at Mount Gambier being the butt of the joke.
“It’s a bit of an insult – some people say we should laugh about it, but I do not think it’s a laughing matter,” he said.
“The morons who started this page clearly know nothing about this place and we need to stand up for our city.”
In February, the page summarised Mount Gambier as South Australia’s “boredom capital”, which received a mixed response from its followers.
An administrator of “Sh*t Towns of Australia” – who wanted to remain anonymous – said it all started as a bit of a joke between a couple of mates.
“I think being able to laugh at yourself is pretty core Aussie tradition – hopefully people take the reviews in the spirit in which they were intended,” he said.
“I do not think this will have a negative impact on Mount Gambier – we have actually had people tell us they have visited towns because of our reviews.”
However, Mr Gorback said if people did not like they city, they should just leave or stay away.
“I have travelled around the country and I have seen some great places, but I am always happy to come back here, the only real complaint I have is about the weather,” he said.
“If you do not like the place then do not let the door hit you on the way out.”
Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin was willing to see the lighter side of the competition, but questioned Mount Gambier’s eligibility.
“I am not convinced of the credibility of the competition and question our eligibility for this ‘honour’ in that we are actually classified as a city and not a town,” she said.
“I think I have got them on a technicality.”
While the competition was poking fun at Mount Gambier, Ms Martin believed it could potentially have a positive influence for the city’s tourism.
“You have to ask yourself whether the people who are voting have ever been to Mount Gambier,” she said.
“I believe it will turn into a positive for us in that people will be searching our Council website or the Discover Mount Gambier site to find out about us and see all the wonderful things our city has to offer.”
The administrator of the page said even they were surprised Mount Gambier had made it this far after knocking off Wagga Wagga, Ballarat and Launceston in the previous rounds.
“Mount Gambier was voted into the final four by our followers,” he said.
“I would not have picked Mount Gambier to make the semi-finals but I guess that’s democracy for you.”
