VOLUNTEERS are keeping a great Aussie tradition of Bachelor and Spinster balls alive, SARAH HUDSON discovers

B&S balls - once a staple of rural life - have in recent years been sinking faster than beer slabs on the back of a ute.

Spiralling insurance costs and increasing regulations have seen fewer balls and fewer ball-goers around the nation.

"I think it's also reflective of the general decline in rural Australia - young people are moving to the cities," says Helen Popple, from Lancefield in Victoria.

However Helen, with her partner Rick Leatherman, are single-handedly attempting to stop the rot, determined to ensure the iconic tradition does not fade.

Three years ago they started the volunteer-run website - ballsinthebush.org - which is a one-stop shop for all things B&S such as online ticketing, information, feedback surveys for ball organisers and forums for ball-goers.

The site also has voluntary "roadies", who travel from ball to ball taking photos, promoting the web, and reporting on highlights.

"Our slogan is: 'keepin' the BnS tradition kickin'," says Helen, a stay-at-home mum with a background in marketing.

"We really do feel like we are helping to make a difference. I think the message is getting out that balls are still here and as long as the organisers get the recipe right, they will continue to grow."

She says the Holbrook B&S is a good example. Last year it attracted 1100 ball-goers, the previous year 700 and this year 1200.

Jerilderie, in NSW, although smaller, had 450 attend last year and up to 650 this year.

"We just think the website does make a difference. It's got to help. It's a great source of information."

Helen and Rick are an unlikely duo when it comes to reviving the B&S tradition.

Helen, 50, admits she had never even been to a ball before starting the website. The concept was born as a tool to promote a friend's plans to film a documentary on the Aussie icon. While the doco was shelved, the website took off.

"The whole reason for starting the doco and the website was to educate the community in how B&S balls contribute so much to their local communities.

"Many people don't have a clue that profits go to local rural communities."

Because there is no governing body for B&S balls, with each event organised by town committees, Rotary, Apex - or in one case the local council - Rick and Helen had to start from scratch. "At the beginning to establish contacts I would go to balls. My first one was in Deniliquin and I didn't come out from behind the stage, it was so rowdy and crazy."

Helen says she has seen her fair share of eye-openers. Captain Condom distributing his stash from a gyrocopter at the Colac B&S was one such memorable event.

"That ball had a cross-dressing theme - seeing country boys in dresses was hilarious.

"The guys are always revving the hell out of their utes and there's always a flasher but it's innocent fun." But, she says, running from ball to ball was hard to keep up and she has now slowed the pace, only attending the odd one. "When you're 50 and sleeping in swags with a child back home, it can be tiring.

"It really took me out of my comfort zone . . . I eventually grew to love them.

"They don't shock me now."

    CHECKLIST
    Upcoming Bachelor and Spinster Balls:
  • Colac Titpullers, February 14 at the Irrewillipe Reserve, ph: 0409 557 922;
  • Birchip Mallee Root Roundup, February 21 at the Birchip trotting track, ph: 0439 349 402;
  • Elmore Summer Send Off Ball, March 7 at the Elmore Events Centre, ph: 0418 506 228 or 0438 528 577.