It may have been intended as a slur on their suburb's good name, but it seems some people in Albion Park are embracing their area's new-found notoriety as one of the nation's bogan capitals.In fact, they're even turning it into a marketing ploy."Welcome 2 Bogan-ville" screams a home-made sign that has been tacked, in true bogan-esque style, on to the wire fence at the suburb's main intersection on Terry St and Tongarra Rd.
Albion Park named in top 10 bogan suburbs POLL: Vote for the Illawarra's most bogan suburb Just which ugg-boot wearing, flannelette-clad individual is behind the stunt remains a mystery.A Facebook group, I'm a proud Albion Park bogan, has also sprung up following the suburb's inclusion in The Punch's list of Australia's Top 10 bogan suburbs.Fans have begun posting pictures on the site of bearded, stubby-holding individuals purportedly from the 2527 locality.The Punch, a news commentary website, this week described Albion Park as "bogan heaven on a stick", citing as evidence its hard pub, brutal crime record and an EPA station constantly monitoring for toxic fallout from the Port Kembla steelworks.But far from shying away from the dubious honour, some Albion Park-ites have embraced their inner-bogan and pointed to further traits that make it worthy of its bogan title."Hey you forgot the two rock quarries and the gun club!," writes Sanchez."But the piece de resistance de boganesque is the block of land in the main street, opposite the hard bikers pub, which has a cyclone fence on it which is the modern equivalent of a town crier. Happy 18th Shazza luv Daz & da Kids Welcome Home For Parole Johnno! and others spraypainted on bedsheets hung on this fence are a true reminder of how far ahead Albion Park is in the bogan stakes. Go AP 2527 all the way!!!"And true to Sanchez's word, the "Welcome 2 Bogan-ville'' sign is now leaning against that very cyclone fence.Sharing bogan honours with the 'Park on The Punch's shortlist are Dandenong and Moe in Victoria, Kambah in the ACT, Redcliffe and Ipswich in Queensland, Wyoming in NSW, Salisbury in South Australia, Chigwell in Tasmania, Rockingham in Western Australia.
