Situated on the northern coast of Philip Island, just about 85 miles from Melbourne, the town of Cowes looks like something out of 1960’s New England, only without the lighthouse or nasal accent. It was about as retro-cliché as a little town could be. To be more precise, Cowes looked eerily like the town of Montauk in eastern Long Island. Montauk is the last town on Long Island, just about 117 miles east of New York City. It has a town hall, train station, movie theatre (with just one screen), supermarket, bank, diner, schoolhouse, miniature golf-course, marina, motels, and one or two main roads. Except for the train station and movie house, Cowes is an Australian Montauk, right down to the water’s edge and remote location.
