Weekends like the one just gone are rare, with memories that get etched into your mind’s eye forever. We’re not a rich community, monetarily speaking, but we’re rich in the things that matter.
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“It’s just what you do when people need ya,” was the catchphrase heard over and over again as a convoy of five trucks, and several utes and trailers laden with 35 pallets worth of groceries, 2000L of molasses, over 50 round bales of hay, five pallets of grain, three pallets of water, and a whole lot of love headed over the ranges en route to the folks out west who need our compassion more than ever right now.
For the past month donations from communities near and far have been inundating the Nambucca Heads RSL Club foyer; pensioners have been bringing in their savings to donate; businesses have given pallet after pallet despite quietly feeling the pinch of the recent economic downturn themselves; local clubs and schools have raised thousands of dollars to help those in need.
A special mention here must go to a few groups, businesses and individuals who went above and beyond the call of duty.
Geoff and Linda Gardner from Pelicans Landing Garden Centre donated a pallet of fertiliser and a pallet of sugar cane mulch, and Geoff Iredale from Tooheys donated 20 cartons of Iron Jack lager.
“Thanks Kylie from Beaumonts Produce of Dorrigo. Your super generous donations of 1.3 tonnes of Molasses and bags of feed, to name a few, were greatly appreciated. I don't even think I finished my sentence on the phone to you when I rang asking if you had any Molasses that we could buy before you jumped in and offered to donate it for free ... such generosity is amazing. True Aussie champions,” Nambucca RSL’s Andrew Ford said.
WATCH the convoy drive out of Nambucca
The Nambucca Heads Lions Club donated $500, with an extra $3500 from individual members towards the round bales of hay.
The Nambucca Valley Christian Community School made good use of their baking skills, raising $1500 for the cause from their cake stall, while Nambucca Heads High and Preschool both donated pallets worth of grocery supplies from their school collections.
Park Beach Bowls Club, Woolgoolga Diggers and Coffs C.Ex donations (an awe-inspiring 8 pallets-worth) were transported down to Nambucca by Paul and David from Office National.
And Richard and Mark from Tinks gave up a considerable amount of their time to pack all the Valley’s donations onto pallets ready to load.
And when drive organiser Wendy Mills put the call out on Facebook two weeks ago for anyone willing to offer freight transportation to the cause, she received over 229,000 responses from all over the country, including from South and Western Australia.
“It’s gotta be some kind of record! And I’m still getting offers now,” she said.
Five lads from Berowra were tapped on the shoulder, and drove the 400-odd kilometres northwards to load up the goods, before the convoy set out for Tamworth on Saturday morning.
A huge thankyou goes to those lads: James Wheeler Jr (who answered the call) and James Wheeler Snr, Jackson Osypenko, Phil Favaloro and Tim Avenhouse.
“They’d help us if we needed it. So, ya know, swings and roundabouts,” Jackson Osypenko said,
“Same thing again next fortnight?” said James Wheeler with nothing but sincerity.
One of the boy’s Dad’s also chipped in $500 worth of dog food, cleaning out the stores down south.
Peter Lea, and Tim and Stacy Moon from Reece also brought their two lorries down from Coffs to help transport the supplies over.
There are no words to express our gratitude and thanks to the team from Wheeler Excavation...James, his dad, James, Phil, Tim, and Jackson....to Jordo, Harley and crew...to Peter Lea and Tim Moon from Reece Plumbing.... to our ute convoy: Kerrie Murphy, Danielle Gourlay, Jodie Bavaro and their mate Danny who drove from Tamworth to assist...to Mark Mills and my dad Don Parveez.....Toni Mansfield, Denise Morris, Tim Hardy Arron Deeth, Peter Brewis, and Mel Davis from the Guardian News.These people donated their time their trucks and fuel to get much needed supplies to our farmers. We salute you ...
- Wendy Mills
And of course, the biggest thankyou and congratulations of all goes to Wendy Mills from the Nambucca Heads RSL Club who engineered the whole shebang. Her initial spark of compassion and her resolve to do something has manifested in a remarkable collaborative effort for which we can all be very proud.
The effect it’s all having
According to Tamworth’s ‘Doing It For Our Farmers’ organiser, Sue Ellen Wilkin, our donations are currently heading out to Coolah (which ran dry weeks ago), West Wyalong, and across the Tamworth district, and are being met with tears, joy and a little embarrassment.
“Mostly big hugs and tears when you first see ‘em. Then the stories come out and they just talk and talk and talk, cos they haven’t been able to for ages. I’m speechless at the generosity – I’m absolutely stunned. And don’t you dare ask me to take off my bloody sunglasses, ‘cos I won’t do it!”
Sadly, she said she is receiving visits from two to three farming women on a daily basis, all in despair at their families’ plight, and with husbands who are seriously considering suicide as the best option going forward.
“They’re that close to ending it. That’s what worries me. We’re living in a third world country out here,” she said.
Cattle are dying in the fields by their thousands. The least we can do now is give these families something to eat while they watch their animals die.
The overwhelming mood on the ground out there is that the State and Federal Governments have left them all for dead.
“That billion dollars from the Berejiklian Government – it sounds like a lot of money, but when you spread it around it’s like a piss in the ocean,” one Tamworth farmer, Jai, said.
“That’s $10,000 each...until it rains. But the problem now is that NSW has almost run out of feed, so has Victoria. The only places left are in Western Australia, and $10,000 wouldn’t even cover the freight cost in getting it here.
“People started to feed their stock cotton seed, but then the mongrels worked that out and the price has gone through the roof.
“The only decent help we’re getting is from communities like yours.”
I didn't get to thank you all personally, but from the bottom of my heart, from the farmers we support, thank you. We left our heart in Nambucca 24 years ago to come to Tamwoth for work and to have the two towns work together has made me so proud. Wendy I will save my tears for another day while I get this beautiful load out to my farming families. Thank you all for doing it for our farmers xxx.
- Sue Ellen Wilkin
More drought relief efforts from our community
Mel Leigh Dee
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
