Townsville floods: Letter that brought desperate farmer to tears

She’d flown over a sea of dead cattle, of ruined fences and drowned kangaroos, but it was a particular letter that brought this desperate Queensland farmer to tears.

SHE’D flown over a sea of dead cattle, of ruined fences and drowned kangaroos, but it was the letter from her children, offering up their pocket money that really brought her to tears.

Jaye Hall has shed many tears since the creeks on her Julia Creek property broke their banks and drowned her livelihood.

And now she is in a race against time to save the cattle that have survived more than a week trapped in mud.

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Ben and Jaye Hall whose kids wrote a letter to them to sell their horses to help out drought relief

“Dear Mum,” Madison, 13, and Wyatt, 11, wrote from the family’s Muttaburra property, “We are sorry about all of the cattle. If there is anything we can do to help you, let us know. Hope you start to feel better soon. If we need more money you could take mine out of my bank and put it in yours. I could even sell some of my animals for money.”

A photo taken by Rae Stretton of dead cattle from flood water at Eddington Station near Julia Creek.

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Jaye has spent two days attempting to save what remains of the 800-head of cattle with the help of two pilot friends.

She estimates half their animals have died, either from drowning or starving while stuck in thick mud.

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She said the surviving cattle were still alive only because family friends, Zane Habbermann and Daniel Black, flew their helicopters from Springsure to her property so they could drop hay bales from the air.

“The ones that are left are up to their knees in mud, standing there starving.

As the water goes down, they are perishing.

Ben and Jaye Hall with children Madison and Wyatt

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“These two boys have come up, dropping everything at their own places that are drought-stricken and have just worked for hours slinging hay bales to the cattle that are still alive.”

She hopes some feed in the next week might give the cows enough strength to hang on for rescue.

“This place has been in our family since 1979,” she said.

Wyatt, 11 and Madison, 13 Hall wrote a letter to their parents telling them to sell their horses to help out drought relief

“We’ve had water this time where we have never had water before. The cattle are exhausted. They need a spell, they need to have a feed and to lie down. And it’s been very cold.

“I don’t know how any survived.”

She said in the midst of the heartbreak, the note from her children had been a “beautiful gift”.

“For Madison to say she’d be happy to sell some of her animals – she loves her animals. That’s like getting blood out of a stone. She has dogs, horses, chooks. She loves them all. That was a pretty generous offer on her part,” Jaye said.

Hay bales which were dropped from the air by chopper

Jaye, whose husband is away and unable to return, said she had been heartened by the many messages from friends and strangers offering help.

She said the State Government needed to “get into action” and help farmers whose animals were stranded and starving.