Stanthorpe drought felt in north of Brisbane as Big Mal readies for water drive

Not content with watching Stanthorpe suffer a man on annual leave is doing something about it.

Malcolm Cuthbert is doing his bit for the drought-stricken in Stanthorpe with his planned water drive.

AN enterprising factory worker is taking on a drought.

Lawnton local Malcolm “Big Mal” Cuthbert is making the most of his annual leave by assembling a mass of water for drought-stricken Stanthorpe.

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Mr Cuthbert was stirred to action at the start of the month and will this weekend make his first water drive.

“I decided to do it after seeing it on TV,” Mr Cuthbert said.

“I just thought ‘what could I do to help?’”

“I’ve got a little Toyota HiLux ute and I thought I had to do something for those people.”

Mr Cuthbert’s efforts quickly went viral with donations of 10 litre water containers amassing under his house.

“I’ve probably got 20,000 litres sitting below the house, so it is going fantastic so far,” he said.

“I would do it once a month so if someone gave more water I would find a way to get it out there.”

Mr Cuthbert said he felt “bloody terrible” about Stanthorpe’s plight and knew how desperate the situation was on the ground.

Mr Cuthbert’s brother has a five-acre property in the city and has been waiting for six weeks on a load of water.

Stanthorpe is currently under some of the toughest water restrictions the region has seen with the Queensland Government sending 30-40 trucks of water a day.

Mr Cuthbert will be travelling in a caravan of three vehicles with a neighbour and work colleague on Saturday and welcomed businesses to donate palettes of water.

If you want to make a donation to Big Mal’s water drive he can be contacted on 0419 640 458, or at Malcolm N Maree on Facebook.