It consists of just one pub, a tiny primary school, a few cafes and only two roads out.
Located 300km from Melbourne, the quiet community of Porepunkah is nestled in the foothills of the Victorian Alps in north-east Victoria.
Yesterday, it was put on the map after two police officers were tragically gunned down and a third was seriously injured in a shooting.
The entire town has been plunged into lockdown for the past 24 hours as the manhunt for accused killer Dezi Freeman continues.
The streets are empty as hundreds of police officers comb the area and surrounding rugged bushland.
Porepunkah locals are still in lockdown and have been warned to stay inside.
Text messages have been sent out to residents warning of an “active armed offender” in the general area of Porepunkah.
The local council Alpine Shire Council said in a statement yesterday it was closing all council facilities “immediately”.
This included libraries, sport centres and the visitor centre.
As darkness descended on Porepunkah last night, the local pub was closed and residents hunkered down inside waiting for news from police.
Porepunkah Primary School also remains closed today, but it’s the only one to shut its doors in the state’s north-east region.
Locals told 9News today that nobody will be able to rest until the alleged cop killer is apprehended.
A family that runs a caravan park just a few hundred metres from where the shooting took place at Porepunkah yesterday spoke about the “surreal” ordeal the town is going through.
Emily White, who manages the Mount Buffalo Caravan Park, said it was “really, really terrifying”.
Her father Glenn Sied said he had been driving back from Wangaratta when he saw police cars tearing towards the town.
“And then I spoke to the police and they said, just start locking down, there’s a gunman on the loose,” he said.
“And we went, right, well that’s interesting. And yeah, had to, you know, all staff had to be inside all cars, everything, all our machinery locked down.
“So it was sort of panic control until we sort of got a bit more information. The police come flying through the parks looking everywhere. Nobody had any nobody had any idea what was going on.”
Sied told Today that their caravan park remains closed.
“We’re still going to stay indoors, keep safe and basically locked down inside until further notice,” he said.
“We had guests staying at the park. Unfortunately last night they couldn’t get back in due to where we are.”
The rugged terrain surrounding Porepunkah and the alpine region has made the search difficult for police.
Police have admitted the alleged gunman Dezi Freeman knows the area better than officers and that “anything’s possible”.
”Our understanding of him is he understands bushcraft well, which provides a challenge for us,” Victoria’s Chief Police Commissioner Mike Bush said.
“But we keep an absolutely open mind on what options are open to him, and those options will inform our approach.”
Contingency plans are also in place in case Freeman tried to cross the border, with NSW Police briefed on the situation.
A command post has been set up on the outskirts of the town, around halfway between Eurobin and Porepunkah.
Police have also been searching the town of Bright, which is located just 5km from Porepunkah.
Bright is a popular tourist destination and is the base for travellers visiting Mount Buffalo National Park, Alpine National Park and Mount Hotham.
