When single mum and photographer Kerri Ambler first arrived in Molong (with two children, two cats, a horse, a dog and a rabbit in tow) five years ago, she thought the town was pretty typical of many rural communities; in that it was "very white, very religious and very straight".
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It took a job behind the bar of the Telegraph Hotel (or "Top Pub" as its better known) for the former-Sydney resident to realise there was so much more to Molong than what appeared on the surface.
"[When I first arrived] I felt really isolated from people.. and feeling a bit lonely so I went to the pub and that was brilliant. It was the perfect way to get into the town," she said.
"As soon as I started digging.... I found that everyone's got an amazing story and the people that I chose [to photograph] have all had interesting lives and are still having interesting lives."
The fascinating characters Ms Ambler met while she pulled beers and chewed the fat with locals is now the subject of a NSW Government-commissioned photography exhibition called The Art of Ageing.
"The commission was to seek out people living in rural communities who are older than 50 and living interesting and unique and empowered lives to bust the myth of ageing," Ms Ambler explained.
"It was an amazing initiative.. [and] an absolute dream project," she added.
"We've got an incredible community in town."
Kerri Ambler's exhibition featuring Molong characters will be on display in the windows of 40 Bank St, Molong, for the next five weeks.
After that, the photographer hopes to publish all the images in a book.
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