AUSTRALIA COAST TO COAST APRIL 2016 ESCAPE T EVERYDAY

Transcription

1 AUSTRALIA COAST TO COAST APRIL 2016 ESCAPE T EVERYDAY

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3 Mihael and Jodie Knuth, their eight-year-old daughter,

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5 EVERY DAY GRAZIER Mihael Knuth sets off down to the paddok with a ute-load of hay or lik to feed his Brahman ows. It's hard to wath their health deline through the ongoing drought - he's raised them sine they were alves. Mihael and his wife, Jodie, say their 26,000-hetare property should run at around 6000 attle, but sine they bought the farm three years ago, a series of dry seasons has fored them to sell off about half their herd. Only 3000 head remain here at Vitoria Downs, about Bo kilometres south of the small town of Charters Towers in northern Queensland. And the Knuths are far from alone in their struggle. Last year, a devastating new reord was set: Bo per ent of Queensland was offiially reognised as being in drought. "The past few years have been tough," Mihael explains. The average rainfall is around 6oomm, but for the past three years, it's been between isomm and 25omm. "During a drought you don't go anywhere, you're onstantly feeding; basially you work for the attle and whatever they need you provide," he says. "Hopefully it pays off later on." And while times are undoubtedly tough right now, if there's any silver lining for drought-devastated families like the Knuths, it must be the way small ommunities - and even strangers - an pull together to make a differene. "It's good when somebody reognises what you are up against," Mihael says. "lt'e Just had to help" Townsville is a go-minute drive from Charters Towers, but it may as well be on another planet. With a population 20 times that of Charters Towers, Townsville looks like a big ountry town by omparison. But its residents haven't forgotten the struggles of their farming neighbours or their own reliane on the state's agriulture. For Brian MAtee, now the president of the Lions Club of Townsville-Castle Hill, helping drought-affeted farmers is a ause lose to his heart. Brian spent his hildhood on a attle property in entral Queensland and still has family raising attle there, so he knows firsthand how demanding and unpreditable farming life an be. Three years ago, worried that not enough was being done for Queensland farmers, Brian addressed his loal lub and proposed that Lions pledge $1 million to help those affeted by drought. "It was a helluva drought," he says. "The politiians didn't want anything to do with the farmers. Nobody understood the severity of it. We just had to help." He spent weeks talking to graziers, loal politiians, agents and suppliers to see how they ould assist. And a funny thing happened: the more he asked around, the more he heard about another Brian and his harity, Aussie Helpers. A former farmer himself, Brian Egan and his wife, Nerida, founded Aussie Helpers in 2002, starting with just $20. Sine then, with the aid of about 40 volunteers, they> 104 CO N TRY STYLE APRIL 2016

6 COMMUNITY 100 CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Brian MAtee (left) from the Lions Club works with Brian Egan of Aussie Helpers to deliver assistane to drought-striken farmers; there ar e urr ently around 3000 Brahman attle at Vitoria Downs; Cinders and Fred take a dip in the Campaspe River- it reently flowed for the first time sine the Knuths bought the property in 2013; the two Brians visit the Knuth family; the Lions Dr ought Relief Projet started by Brian MAtee, president of the Townsville-Castle Hill lub, has donated more than $800,000 to Aussie Helpers; alves on the Knuths' property. FACING PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Jodie ommunes with a Brahman alf; the two Brians work together to help farmer s; Hannah enjoys riding her bike on the property's flat gravel roads; the dogs hith a ride home through paddoks that are green thanks to a small amount of rain earlier in the year. ~ r

7 COMMUNITY 100 have distributed a staggering $12 million in assistane to farmers right aross Australia. Last year alone, Brian Egan and his volunteers visited more than 1000 properties in Queensland and NSW. "The only way we an find out what these people need is to drive to their property, sit down and have a uppa," he says. "It's not so muh what you give; it's more that someone ares. It humanises the drought." After Brian MAtee learnt about Brian Egan's work, he had a light-bulb moment. "We didn't need to reinvent the wheel. People were so grateful for the work that Aussie Helpers was doing, I realised the best thing we ould do was to assist them." And so, The Lions Drought Relief Projet was born. In partnership with Aussie Helpers, the Projet has supported a dozen Hay Days in ountry towns affeted by drought. For farmers struggling finanially, buying expensive hay strethes them even further. But to keep breeding ows alive, you need hay: it's a ath 22. "Hay Days are about giving out feed, but they've beome so muh more than that," Brain MAtee says. "I wanted to get the farmers and their families off the land for a day, to stop looking at that same brown path outside." The first Hay Day was a simple affair, a hane to have a up of offee or a sausage sandwih and hat to loals. Now, vouhers for fuel, loal pharmaies and supermarkets are handed out. Graziers and their families an line up for free hairuts and massages. Baskets of fresh produe are donated. "On Hay Days, you don't hear anyone talk about t he drought," says Brian MAtee. To date, the projet has donated more than $800,000 to Aussie Helpers, with Lions Clubs all over Australia pithing in to raise funds for the effort. Brian Egan ouldn't be happier. "It's grown beyond my wildest dreams," he says. "It's a privilege to be able to help our farmers." Despite these suesses, there's still so muh work to be done. Sine Boxing Day 2015, the Knuths have reeived 10omm of rain at Vitoria Downs. While the drought has by no means broken, when Country Style visited there was short green grass on the river flats and timbered ridges. "People say, 'Oh, it's rained, the drought has broken' and it's not even lose - all those onseutive years have a flow-on effet," says Mihael. "But this is life in the bush; you have to grin and bear it, and hange what you an." Mihael's story "I've always loved the bush. I grew up on Cameron Station on the Burdekin River, but my dad wanted to buy our urrent property, Vitoria Downs, almost his entire life. He first saw it 40 years ago and thought it was the prettiest plae he'd ever seen. We finally got the hane to buy it in Sadly, it's been a few tough years. "I've been through a ouple of droughts and they're all tough. Eah one is different ; some are grass droughts, some are water droughts - but th is one has been both. There's no room for error, it's seven days a week and it ditates what you do. It's a drain to go months and months without a break, but you have to keep going and take are of t he property- it's all you have. "If you're in drought too long, the buffel grass, whih the attle eat, will die. It an take a few seasons for it to ome bak, and the longer you're in drought, the longer it takes to respond. When our grass died, we had to feed the attle hay, molasses and grain just to keep them alive. "I'm not always strong. Some days you feel rikety and wound-up: you an see what's going wrong, but you feel powerless to do anything. It wears you down. You hear about people ommitting suiide and you an see how t hey get to that point. It's mentally exhausting; you're always wondering, 'Am I doing the right thing?' "One day I ame home from feedingthe attle to find a ard from Aussie Helpers tuked in the sreen door. They ame bak a week later and had a uppa with us. Brian gave us attle feed and some groeries. Every bit does help, that's for sure. "Sometimes you feel like you're butting your head against a brik wall and you just an't break through. But I love the bush and I love going out to work every day. There's nothing like seeing a good line of attle - that's something you've built yourself, from srath. Every day is different, and I love it.",jodie'.~ story "The past two years have been really hard. We sold as many attle as we ould to preserve our grass and Mihael deided it would be a good idea to use attle lik. When we went to put it out for the attle, I realised exatly how dry it was out there. I'd been spending so muh time teahing the kids that I hadn't seen t he extent of it. I found two ows bogged in a dam. I pulled one out, but I ouldn't get her to stand up. That was it; I just sat down and ried. It didn't solve anything, but every so often it's okay to ry. "I was in town the day Aussie Helpers alled round. They ame bak the following week to visit us. The first year they gave us hay, the next were hampers from loal businesses, and this time around there was food, lothes, toys, videos and attle supplement. It really touhed us that people ared so muh. Their ad says it best: without Aussie farmers there's no Aussie food. Sometimes we feel forgotten, so it's good to see that people do still are and will do what they an to try and help. At the end of the day it's not going to save us - only rain an do t hat - but it's something." OJ... For information about Lions Australia, telephone (02) or visit lionslubs.org.au. To.find out more about Aussie Helpers, telephone i or visit aussiehelpers. org.au. For the hane to win $1000 to help your ommunity, join the Lions Club Community 100 projet, details opposite. 106 CO UNTRY STYLE APRI L 2016

8 COMMUNITY 100 YOUR CAUSE, YOUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE What ould you do to improve your ommunity? To elebrate 100 years of the Lions Clubs International, they're giving away $100,000 to more than 100 loal projets. Helping loal farmers through tough times is just one way of giving bak to your home town; a publi garden, kids' playground or senior itizens' entre ould be your projet of hoie. "If you an think of a ommunity need, hanes are there's a Lions Club doing something about it," says Rob Oerlemans, Lions' exeutive offier. There are more than 100 Lions Clubs partiipating in this grant program. Visit homelife.om.au/terms for full terms and onditions and to find out if your projet is eligible. You have until June 30, 2016, to apply for a $1000 grant to help you develop a projet in your ommunity. We need a short submission from you that inludes: 1 An outline of the projet for whih funding is being sought, the ommunity whih will benefit from it and details of how the ommunity will benefit. 2 Proposed timing of the projet. 3 Total ost of the projet. Visit homelife.om.au or mail your appliation to Lions Community 100, Country Style, Loked Bag 5030, Alexandria, NSW Appliations open at 00:01 AEDT on and lose at 23:59 AEST on Grant reipients will be determined at 10:00 AEST on at Level 1. 2 Holt Street. Surry Hills. NSW Grant reipients will be announed and their names published on homel1fe.om.au on Full terms and ond1t1ons and el1g1bility restritions apply. v1s1t homelife.om.au/terms