Every Thursday night, John Abreu makes his way to the Gascoyne Hotel in the remote Western Australian town of Carnarvon, joining his brother and daughter for a weekly gathering of a group known as the Old Bastards. They share drinks, play games, swap stories and raise money for their community, and for many locals in this isolated coastal town, it has become far more than just a social outing.
John's daughter Rena was registered as a member when she was just nine months old, making her, as her father proudly notes, the youngest Old Bastard in Carnarvon's history. She is now an adult and still attending. Despite the colourful name, the group welcomes members of all ages and genders.
Loneliness Is a Growing Crisis in Regional Australia
The Old Bastards are part of a broader story unfolding across rural and regional Australia, where loneliness has reached what researchers describe as alarming levels. Recent research found that more than half of all Australians experience loneliness, with the rate even higher in communities outside major cities.
Associate Professor Michelle Lim, chief executive of Ending Loneliness Together, Australia's peak body focused on social isolation, says the evidence is clear. Her organisation has been surveying Australians since 2018, and its most recent findings identify regional and rural communities as an isolation hotspot.
"The prevalence is significantly higher for both loneliness and social isolation in regional and rural communities," Associate Professor Lim says.
She also notes that public understanding of loneliness has historically been limited, with many people dismissing it as something individuals simply need to push through. "A lot of people would say just get over it, you live and this is just part of life," she says, describing attitudes that frustrated early efforts to raise awareness.
The Health Toll Is Stark
The consequences of loneliness extend well beyond feeling disconnected. Health experts warn that chronic social isolation can contribute to serious physical and mental health conditions, including heart disease, depression, anxiety and increased stroke risk. Perhaps most striking is the mortality data: loneliness can reduce a person's lifespan by as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
The issue gained significant international attention in 2023, when the United States Surgeon General declared social isolation a public health concern at epidemic proportions. In Australia, advocates say the response at a policy level has been slow to match the scale of the problem, leaving grassroots community groups to carry much of the load.
Small Groups, Big Impact in Isolated Communities
For people like Jonathon Foster, who relocated to Carnarvon six years ago, the Old Bastards filled a void that geography and distance had created. Carnarvon sits roughly 500 kilometres from Geraldton and 600 kilometres from Karratha, making the sense of community that groups like the Old Bastards provide especially vital.
"I didn't feel connected until we met these guys and they just put their arms out and welcomed us into the town," Foster says. "It's probably because of the isolation that it all works."
Associate Professor Lim says informal groups like this one are doing essential work that formal services often cannot replicate. "There's not enough research in this area," she acknowledges, but adds that what the data does show is that community connection in regional areas can be a genuine lifeline.
On the Gold Coast, a government-funded program known as Chatterbox, formally the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme, takes a different approach by connecting volunteers with older Australians who may otherwise have little social contact, reflecting how both grassroots and funded efforts are emerging to address the same underlying problem.
From the weekly morning teas of the Carnarvon Old Bastards to structured volunteer programs further east, Australians in regional communities are finding their own ways to push back against isolation, one gathering at a time. Across the country, the ways Australians seek connection and relief continue to evolve, but for many living far from city centres, nothing replaces the simple act of showing up in person.
