For Kirk Voss his adopted town of Murrurundi is the last piece of the 'real Australia' that's left.
"It's the most beautiful place you will find anywhere. It's like Australia used to be 50 years ago when you could leave your door open and not have to worry," he said.
But this piece of paradise has had one serious problem - water security.
The town's 850 residents have endured unprecedented Level 6 water restrictions since July 2018 and has been relying on water trucked in daily from Scone since January 2019.
That changed on Friday when the first water flowed from the long-awaited 40 kilometre Scone to Murrurundi pipeline.
"It should have been connected years ago, but it's finally here," Mr Voss, said.
Two million litres of water a day can now be pumped to the town from Glenbawn Dam via Scone.
Despite the historic occasion, White Hart Hotel owner Jules Cross said it was business as usual for most locals.
"There's no parties or anything like that going on," Mr Cross said.
"I think people are just so used to not having water. It's going to take a while to get used to turning on the tap to get a glass of water."
Ironically the town has been blessed with good rainfall in recent months prompting the Pages River to start flowing again.
"It's such an awesome sight; it really lifts your spirits to see the river flowing," Mr Cross said.
As well as being on schedule, the project was completed within the $14.2 million budget.
More than $13 million was provided by the state government's Water Security for Regions program and Upper Hunter Shire Council provided the balance.
Upper Hunter Shire mayor Wayne Bedggood said the completion of the pipeline would give the town a much needed boost.
"It's been a long journey and we are glad to finally be here," he said.
"It goes a long way to drought-proofing our shire. There's more to do but this is a great first step."
Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen said the pipeline was a momentous day for Murrurundi, which had struggled with water security issues for decades.
"Ultimately this means that the lifeblood of water is finally secure for the people of Murrurundi coming from Glenbawn Dam through this pipeline," he said.
"This is also a significant step in the creation of a water reticulation system for villages along the pipeline."
Mr Johnsen said studies into the viability of the 450 gigalitre Camerons Dam project were continuing.
The project, which was first floated more than 30 years ago, would be built on the Pages River near the 1335 hectare Camerons Gorge Nature Reserve between Murrurundi and Scone.
"I hope to be in a position where I can provide more details about that project in the next couple of years," Mr Johnsen said.
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