Bonang

Bonang is the nation’s largest city yet tends to be treated with some derision by other Errinundrians. Lying on the northern plains it has no geographical feature to distinguish it. Once forested like the great central plateau, the northern plains were severely deforested between the 1905 revolution and the 1941 internal liberation. This clear-felling continued after the liberation due to a clever legal exploition of a quirk in the constitution that gave the notorious NGDV Ltd unexpected rights over the plains. The collapse of this company some years ago brought an end to the logging. The cleared land was never re-forested. Instead, the fertile soils feed the nation and fuel the growth of the great northern cities, Bendoc, Bonang, Dellicknora and Tubbut.

With the wealth from the logging and farming, Bonang has grown to be the financial hub of Errinundera, something that is resented by the “old” money of McKillops Bridge. The rivalry between these two cities is intense. Errinundrians from the Snowy River valley and from the central plateau look down their noses at the plains people as comparatively materialistic (by Errinundera’s very high standards), provincial, uncultured and a bit dense. This doesn’t seem to worry the Plains Folk as the are smug in the knowledge that they are more practical, harder-working, wealthier (by Errinundera’s very low standards) and more, well, normal.

Bonang came into minor prominence during World Cup 6 when fans, incensed by taunting from Lemmitanian radio broadcasters during the semi-final, trashed the local lammington factory. Two things can be observed from this. One: Bonangers can be as weird as any Errinundrians. Two: Perhaps their reputation as being rustic and a bit thick has some basis.

The thing that people always remember when you put the two words, “Bonang” and “football” together in a conversation is the nickname of the city’s team – the Gonads. When the club started as some yobbos’ excuse for a weekend piss-up they gave themselves the alliterative and ribald monicker, not realizing the big strides the club would make. When later, more particular, club officials tried to change the name; the fans ignored them and continued to use the name on their banners, scarves and jumpers. At an official launch of a sponsored new name – The Wombats - irate fans set firehoses on the officials and sponsors. So, reluctantly, the traditional name was formally accepted as the name of the city’s team: the Bonang Gonads.

This confidence in their footballing future is reflected in the city’s decision to build the largest stadium in the nation, the 101,000 seat Bonang Cricket Ground. Why that name? The ground’s primary use for over a hundred years has been as a cricket ground. It will continue to be used as such in summer although the few thousand that attend cricket matches will be dwarfed by the stands.