In “Quamby”, population 200, everyone knows everyone – and everyone knew Merril Kelly.
In “Quamby”, population 200, everyone knows everyone – and everyone knew Merril Kelly.
By Erin Pearson
January 25, 2025 — 4.10pm
A few hundred metres from a dusty road in the Mallee, scorched tussock grass on the outskirts of a cemetery marks the spot of a gruesome discovery.
On Tuesday, homicide detectives flooded the tiny town of Quambatook, population 200, after CFA volunteers responding to a grass fire stumbled across a body in a disused quarry between the cemetery and a train line.
Although the body has not yet been formally identified – it was badly burnt in the fire and DNA results are needed – there is little doubt among locals that it belongs to Merril Kelly, a deeply respected community stalwart.
A local man, 67-year-old Brian Barnes, was arrested in Welshmans Reef, 180 kilometres away from the crime scene, the following day and charged with murder.
The death has rocked the tiny farming town on the banks of the empty Avoca River, where natter about recent harvest troubles are being interjected with talk of alleged murder.
Quambatook, or “Quamby” as some locals call it, is a proud wheat and sheep farming area, nearly 300 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. It’s a town where they measure the rain and where blowflies stick to the back of shirts like glue. It’s a town where everyone knows everyone – and everyone knew Merril Kelly.
Kelly recently saved the local swimming pool from closing down – the only local waterway where young children can safely learn to swim.
She was at the helm of the town’s community development association, amity club and memorial swimming pool. Behind the scenes, she was also a carer for her unwell husband and a supportive mother to their son, Will, who became a paraplegic following a car accident as a teenager. He’s since become an internationally recognised disabled waterski champion.
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From Friday morning, those who knew Kelly stopped by the town’s resource centre, a community service she spent decades helping stay afloat.
It’s usually used as a place to learn how to use technology or print documents. This week, it has swiftly turned into a mental health support service.
When The Age visited on Friday, some residents could be seen hugging each other outside, disbelief etched across their faces.
As word of Kelly’s death spread, the Quambatook Lions Club cancelled its Australia Day event. Nearby, the local bowls club opened its doors so grieving residents could “just be with other people”.
The pool and local coffee shop all shut until further notice, and residents have been warned to be wary of outsiders.
At the general store, where the Australian flag was flying at half-mast, locals arrived in tears.
Most were happy to chat but no one wanted to be named.
“It boggles the mind,” one local woman says. “Not here, not this. It doesn’t happen.”
Police tape remained strewn at the entrance to the town’s old cemetery. There, sun-scorched headstones, all but one facing east towards the sunrise, overlook the ashes of the grass fire that led CFA volunteers to the body.
Fuelled by a south-eastern wind, the fire burnt tussock grass between the railway line and the cemetery before it was extinguished.
The smell of ashen grass and leaves remained there on Friday, carried by the breeze as it tore across newly harvested grain crops about 4.5 kilometres out of town.
Fifth generation grain farmer Brett Hosking says Kelly was the type of person who made the town welcoming for everyone.
He says when someone new arrived in town, she showed them around and made sure they were aware of all the things they could access for any challenges they may face.
Quambatook, he says, was a town where people had to do things for themselves, such as help run the local church, as a minister was only available to travel to the town once a month.
“The rest we do ourselves,” he says.
“Volunteering here is just something that happens organically. People like Merril realised if they didn’t do it, no one else would.
“It’s a good community. It’s not uncommon to drive along the main road and slow down because there are two utes stopped in the road to have a chat. That’s the beauty of it. People make time for each other.”
On Thursday, Barnes, the accused killer, faced Bendigo Magistrates’ Court charged with murder of what court documents say is an “unknown person”, as forensics experts work to officially identify the body.
The court heard it was Barnes’ first time in custody and police were fighting to use a sample of his DNA as part of their homicide investigation.
Barnes was remanded to reappear in court next week, when the DNA sample is expected to be discussed further.
Online, Barnes, also known as Bert Barnes, has posted regular videos on social media and referred to himself as a “skateboarder, snake catcher and hack gardener”.
Hosking says Kelly’s death has been traumatic for the town.
“It’s a horrible situation. We don’t have things like this happen in Quamby. These things belong elsewhere,” he says.
“It is a good little town. Not a town for everyone, but the right town for the people who live here.
“I hope and pray this doesn’t define the town.”
Under the shade of two umbrellas outside the general store, a group of older men the town calls the “coffee gang” gather three mornings a week.
Most ride in on their electric mobility scooters to chat about the weather, the trucks barrelling through town and the grief of losing one of their own.
Credit: Erin Jonasson
Quambatook, they say, is a special place.
Musician John Williamson was raised here, as was Molly Meldrum.
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Many locals are retired farmers who’ve moved off the land and into smaller housing.
At one end of the town’s main drag is a one-man police station, and at the other end is the Quambatook Community Hall. At the centre of it is the general store, where Lifeline cards were left for locals to collect as they arrived to buy the paper or peruse the scant aisles.
Outside on Friday, the hum of cicadas is only interrupted by corellas as they fly in packs from gum tree to gum tree, and the rustling of the metal whirlybird on top of the cafe. Silos to the west shadow the town.
Like most small communities, Quambatook life moves slowly, but gossip spreads like wildfire.
Locals tell this masthead Barnes had lived in one of the single-storey flats next door to the police station for about two years. But it wasn’t until about two months ago that he started showing his face around town.
While Quambatook may, in a time of crisis, appear secretive, it’s clear behind closed doors that everyone looks out for each other.
Gannawarra Shire Council says it will continue to help provide “urgent trauma counselling” for distressed residents.
“Any loss of life in small rural communities such as Quambatook has a wider impact on the area,” a council spokesperson said.
On the Quambatook Connection Facebook page, Meagan McGregor wrote: “To the Quamby community, please know the whole region has you in their thoughts at this terrible time of loss. May justice be swift.”
Penny Wilkinson, chief executive of Northern District Community Health, says Kelly was a beloved life member, community leader and friend.
In December 2023, Kelly retired as board director and life governor after 27 years at the organisation.
At the time, then chief executive Mandy Hutchinson said Kelly had provided leadership and wisdom at the rural healthcare group for two decades.
“We will miss her thoughtful and considered contributions to the board,” Hutchinson said when Kelly retired.
“I have very much appreciated her accessibility and availability to chat things through and to be a sounding board.
“I often find myself saying, ‘What would Merril do?’”
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Erin Pearson covers crime and justice for The Age.Connect via Twitter or email.
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