My Countrytown: Olive Mae

Fresh off releasing her effortlessly fun new single Hit The Road, Western Australian artist Olive Mae has joined Countrytown for a My Countrytown feature, telling us all about her hometown of Cowaramup.

The new single quickly became the theme song for Mae’s travels and touring (as well as the title track of her forthcoming debut EP in 2024). An upbeat folk-meets-country track, Hit The Road reminds listeners that there’s no such thing as “the right time” to get out of your comfort zone, so why not take a leap and go for it?

Check out Mae’s My Countrytown about Cowaramup below.

Olive Mae – My Countrytown

Cowaramup, WA

Community:

The reason that we love Cowaramup so much is because of the amazing community vibe it has. We have lived here since our kids were little, and it is such a great place to raise a young family. Every year, more people seem to realise this too, and the town is growing quickly, but it has still maintained its small-town vibe, which is so great.

Our kids love nothing more than roaming the streets on their bikes with their friends after school, on weekends and school holidays and it is so great to know that there are so many people around that we know that also keep an eye on them.

It really does take a village, and we have that in spades in Cowaramup. The school community is great, the sports clubs are excellent (especially the Cowie Bulls Junior Football team!), and it is just an all-around great place to live!

Tourist Attractions:

Cowaramup is 12 km north of Margaret River and is located close to so many spots that lure tourists from far and wide. We are so fortunate to be able to live in such a beautiful holiday hotspot, and there are so many amazing things that we are lucky enough to enjoy regularly. The beaches are some of the best in Australia, and there are so many great wineries and breweries to visit. Some of our favourite places to go are The Beer Farm, Swings and Roundabouts, Leeuwin Estate and Fishbone.

The Servo Taphouse:

After years of only having one place to go out in Cowaramup, this all changed one year ago with the opening of The Servo Taphouse. “The Servo”, as it is fondly known, is now the place to be in Cowaramup and has been a much-needed addition to our local live music scene. They have live music 2-3 nights a week, including a massive Open Mic Night once a month as well as hosting a very popular weekly quiz night. They are big supporters of new musicians and will always be happy to give you a gig if you go in there and ask nicely!

The Cowaramup District Club:

If you want to get amongst the real locals in Cowaramup, you can’t go past the Cowaramup District Club. The Club is the place in town where you can take your family to have dinner, and you can be almost certain that on any given night, you will run into your kids’ friends and their families who are there doing the same thing, which makes for a great time for all!

It’s an authentic small-town pub where the old locals love to hang out, and it’s my husband’s favourite place to go in the hopes he will win another meat tray! They run a very popular weekly social lawn bowls night during the warmer months and always have live music on the weekends, too.

The History

Cowaramup is a relatively new town, having been established in the group settlement era in the 1920s, but its foundation that was firmly seeded in agriculture still stands today. The town was named after the Purple Crown Lorikeet or Cowara bird, which is local to the area.

Many people now know it as “Cowtown”, nicknamed because of the thriving dairy industry that the town was built on. It is now celebrated by the many statues of cows that dot the main street and local park and are a tourist attraction in themselves.

Hit The Road by Olive Mae is out now. She makes her Tamworth Country Music Festival debut in January 2024.