The winding roads towards the multimillion-dollar, 10-bedroom, five-bathroom compound turn from asphalt to dirt track.<\/p>\n
They narrow and the bush closes in on both sides, as if nature is making a bid to reclaim some of its territory.<\/p>\n
The mint green sheeted roof of a home is visible through thick trees that form a natural boundary and keep those inside largely hidden from view.<\/p>\n
It is here \u2013 28km north of Melbourne, on the outskirts of a tiny, historic town home to just 3500 people \u2013 where Australia\u2019s most recognisable white supremacist has moved.<\/p>\n
Hurstbridge is literally the end of the line for Melbourne\u2019s metropolitan train network. It is where the suburbs meet the bush. <\/p>\n
Picturesque 1920s-era timber shopfronts are sprinkled along the main street not far from where the town\u2019s founder, Henry Hurst, was shot and killed by a bushranger 160 years ago.<\/p>\n
Today, in the centre of town, anti-Nazi messages cover noticeboards and footpaths. <\/p>\n
\u201cNazis out,\u201d the messages read. The sentiment \u2014 that former National Socialist Network leader Thomas Sewell is not welcome here \u2014 is clear.<\/p>\n
You hear it when you talk to locals and business owners and even members of a local running club, which news.com.au can reveal Sewell has joined, against the wishes of participants.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want a Nazi here, though there will be many that are sympathetic to his rhetoric,\u201d a local woman told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a violent man and he\u2019s chosen a town of ageing hippies, tradies and old WASPs to make his utopia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cWASP\u201d she refers to is a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Census data shows that Hurstbridge is majority white \u2014 its population is made up of English, Irish, Scottish and German descendants.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people are afraid,\u201d the woman said.<\/p>\n
Exactly what they\u2019re afraid of differs. Some worry wayward young local boys will be targeted for recruitment.<\/p>\n
Others worry about the establishment of a \u201cwhite homestead\u201d in the hills around town, something Sewell did not deny when pressed by media this week.<\/p>\n
\u2018That\u2019s how the Adolf Hitler thing started\u2019<\/p>\n
It has been well documented that the NSN and the wives of those involved<\/a> have ambitions for an all-white enclave modelled on whites-only communities in the US.<\/p>\n Sewell is the president of the White Australia political party \u2014 which is the political arm of the former NSN. <\/p>\n As The Age reported last week<\/a>, the Hurstbridge mansion gifted to Sewell by a wealthy businessman sympathetic to his nationalist agenda is listed as the party\u2019s official headquarters. <\/p>\n The mansion, perched high on a sprawling eight hectare block, has space for 11 cars and hundreds of people.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a Hurstbridge local, I find the knowledge of a group of white supremacists moving into town extremely scary and rage inducing,\u201d a local man told news.com.au.<\/p>\n \u201cThomas moving into a giant compound with his Nazi goons should be totally alarming for us as a town but also as a nation, because the threat of Nazis on our back doors should not be taken lightly. <\/p>\n \u201cOnce they congregate in one area, the ideas shared and the hate spread will become more intense. <\/p>\n \u201cI am concerned that these ideas [as] they spread will lure young white men in our community further into hate and extremism. <\/p>\n \u201cIn small towns, young men are already more likely to be violent and carry more hate on their shoulders, so Nazis being so close by does create fear.\u201d<\/p>\n In community groups online, locals are uniting around one cause. They want the far-right to be far from here.<\/p>\n \u201cWould love to get involved in making sure Nazis don\u2019t set up shop in our area, or anywhere for that matter,\u201d one Hurstbridge local wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolute insanity that this guy is our neighbour,\u201d another wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cBe careful approaching him or his fiance. Parents, be aware. He\u2019s intentionally targeting teenagers and young men when enlisting, weaponising every dumb *ss culture war talking point with slick words to push kids towards violent extremism.\u201d<\/p>\n Other locals promised they\u2019d \u201cmake (neo-Nazis) feel as unwelcome as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNazis should not be comfortable anywhere,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cHate would be a valid response to neo-Nazis. As would dismay, sorrow, the need to act, anger, disgust. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re feeling nice and chill and calm about Nazis being bankrolled to live in huge discreet properties to suit their future Nazi gathering needs, that would be the problem. That\u2019s how the whole Adolf Hitler thing started.\u201d<\/p>\n Sewell joins run club, members \u2018do NOT want him\u2019 there<\/p>\n