By Alesha Capone
A satirical write-up of Werribee featured on a comedic social media page has drawn mixed reactions from residents and Wyndham councillors.
The Sh*T Towns of Australia Facebook page, which has more than 461,000 followers, provides a tongue-in-cheek guide to towns and suburbs across the nation.
Run by two writers under the pseudonyms of Rick Furphy and Geoff Rissole, they also publish road-trip guide books containing their written compositions.
The Werribee write-up, published last week, described the suburb “as a former country town that in recent times has become a commuter dormitory”.
Werribee is described as being “full of ferals who were funnelled out of gentrifying city suburbs by rising rents, resulting in horrendous traffic, soaring crime and an abundance of bogans”.
The write-up goes on to say that “a particularly dero part of Werribee is ‘the Birdcage’, an urban jungle that earned its name because most of its streets are named after birds.
“Unfortunately, during a trip down Kookaburra Crescent or Budgie Court, the only bird you are likely to see is a Ford Falcon abandoned on a nature strip,” it reads.
Werribee Park and the Werribee Open Range Zoo also received a mention in the write-up, along with the Western Treatment Plant.
Drawing plenty of comments from Sh*T Towns of Australia’s followers, some people agreed the write-up was a fairly accurate depiction of Werribee – while others vehemently disagreed.
Commenting on the page, Rob said: “Who’s the author and where do you live, not doubting there’s bad in the town, but there’s a hell of a lot of good people too, so I suggest u have a good look at yourself, before you hang it on Werribee.”
Glenys commented the write-up was “a load of rubbish” and that the authors should not “rubbish all the law abiding and hardworking people who live there”.
However, Stephanie wrote: “Come on, if you’re from Werribee this will give you a laugh – not too far from the truth, depending what side of the train tracks you’re from.”
Wyndham Cr Marcel Mahfoud said that while he understood the article was satirical in nature, “It’s disheartening to read things like this”.
“As we know we have come a long way as a municipality and Werribee has changed drastically in recent years,” Cr Mahfoud said.
“We are striving to make Werribee a place of interest for tourists and people from out of the area.
“As the portfolio holder for place making initiatives (on Wyndham council), I know the great work council staff have put into making Wyndham a liveable city and statements like these don’t give a good impression of the area.”
Wyndham Cr Mia Shaw said that social media sites like Sh*T Towns of Australia “are irrelevant and obnoxious”.
“The residents of Werribee, and more broadly Wyndham, have done it tough through six lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cr Shaw said.
“We’re now leading the way in terms of vaccinations and we’re all trying to support our residents and businesses.
“Each and every one of our residents deserve praise and support.
“I grew up in this city and I’m very proud of it.
“It’s disappointing that publications such as Star Weekly feel the need to highlight thoughtless and counter-productive social media sites when there are so many issues of importance confronting our residents.”
Star Weekly spoke to Rick Furphy, Sh*t Towns of Australia co-writer, after the Werribee write-up was published.
He said the page’s writers “have visited Werribee, unfortunately”.
Mr Furphy said that following the write-up, several Wyndham residents contacted the Sh*t Towns of Australia page.
“We have certainly received a bit of abuse from outraged Werribeeans, and even more messages of support from locals who agree with our write-up,” he said.
Mr Furphy said that for residents who are truly outraged by the write-up, he would “suggest they stop taking life so seriously or find more important things to worry about”.
“Then again, we do get a laugh out of some of the entertaining abuse that lands in our inbox,” he said.
In July, Werribee placed equal-ninth in a poll run by Sh*T Towns of Australia to discover Victoria’s worst suburb.
Frankston received the most votes, with 15.5 per cent, followed by Toorak with 10 per cent, Broadmeadows with eight per cent, Sunshine and Melton with seven per cent and Corio on 6.5 per cent.
Werribee and Boronia received five per cent of the vote each.
“We thought it might have performed a bit better in the poll, as it’s a pretty iconic sh*t suburb,” Mr Furphy said.
“It has been on our radar since the very beginnings of the page – after all, there aren’t many towns that smell as bad as they look.”
