IF you blinked at the wrong time you might have missed it, but Prime Minister Kevin Rudd dropped in to Moorabool last week on his way to Ballarat.
The sod-turning visit was kept tight-lipped until hours before he arrived at Hopetoun Park to officially launch the Anthonys Cutting roadworks.
A media pack including the Express Telegraph was at the construction site to see the PM don the customary hard hat and pose while operating machinery.
Mr Rudd put on a serious face when examining the map outlining changes to the Western Highway and asked about the number of accidents there.
But he turned jocular when referring to federal Member for Ballarat Catherine King as a "bitumen-sniffer from way back", and he asked how to pronounce Moorabool correctly.
Moorabool mayor Pat Toohey said he was excited about meeting the PM for the first time. "It was quite a privilege to meet him and I found him to be very open and welcoming. I will frame the picture I had taken with him."
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