Volunteers rebuild drought-crippled town with help and hope

A ‘Farm Army’ has ­descended on rural NSW to help a town crippled by the drought to get back on its feet, with tradies, skilled workers, students and retirees planting, building and painting some life back into the community.

A “Farm Army” has ­descended on rural NSW to help a town crippled by the drought to get back on its feet.

Tradies, skilled workers, students and retirees have all come together for Rural Aid to spend the past week at Murrurundi, about an hour south of Tamworth.

More than 70 volunteers have planted, built and painted some life back into the community, working on farm properties and other projects around the town.

Qantas staff Nikki Stewart and Lauren Clarke paint the gate of Craig Murphy’s Murrurundi farm. Pictures: Jonathan Ng

Farmer Craig Murphy, 57 said he was “incredibly grateful” to the group who helped him build a new fence at the front of his 1800ha cattle property­.

“It does you good to think that someone else cares and you’re not on your own, it’s a good morale booster that gives you that little bit of incentive to keep going and soldier on,” he said. “These are good ­people who came and gave up a week of their time, a lot of them in their holidays, to help us in our time of need.”

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Mr Murphy became the first farmer to benefit from The Daily Telegraph’s Adopt a Farmer campaign, receiving a $100 prepaid Visa gift card to spend locally as a result of the fundraiser supported by schools and businesses.

He also got wellwishing letters from students at Minchinbury Public School.

“It’s incredible, it’s mind boggling to think the message is getting through, people understand the plight of farmers, not just me there’s a lot of us,” he said.

Acts of generosity have flowed throughout the state.

Farmers Diane and Richard Darcy, from Tullamore in the central west of NSW, recently received a $100 cheque in the mail from a Daily Telegraph reader in Randwick, Sydney, who heard about the family’s drought struggles through the Adopt a Farmer campaign. Lauren Clarke and Nikki Stewart are among dozens of Qantas staff who have signed up to Rural Aid’s Farm Army since the drought hit.

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Ms Clarke said she had ­already donated money to drought relief but wanted to give more “hands-on” help.

“Everyone jumped in to help do whatever was needed, we were divided into smaller teams with some people going out onto farms and others fixing and building things for the local community,” she said.

And Ms Stewart said she was struck by the emotional reactions of the farmers.

“It’s a way to give back to the community,” she said.

“You go back to Sydney in a restaurant and you see beautiful meat and just think, I know where that came from and how much work it took to get here.”

Farmer Craig Murphy gets his Visa gift card from Rural Aid’s Julia Hahn.

The pair also took annual leave to participate in a farm rescue at Dunedoo near Dubbo last year with about 40 other Qantas employees, ­including engineers, technicians and cabin crew members.

Julia Hahn manages the Farm Army projects, co-ordinating volunteers and donations for each of the nine rescues planned for this year. “We have volunteers from all over bringing with them a wide range of skills we can use to help these struggling towns,” she said. “It really shows how giving Australians are at heart.”

This week in Murrurundi about 40 volunteers helped build fences on four local farms, plant gardens for schoolchildren and even ­repaint a steam engine at the town’s museum. Rural Aid has also co-ordinated two hay drops for farmers and deliv­ered musical instruments to 10 schools in the area.

Newcastle retirees Anne and Geoff Gidley saw an advertisement for the Farm Army on TV earlier this year and decided to they need to do their bit.

“I’d never done fencing before but everyone just gets in and helps out,” Ms Gidley said.

“By the end of the day you’re certainly tired but it’s fulfilling work.”

STUDENTS ARE AS GOOD AS GOLD

Hundreds of students at St Therese Primary School in West Wollongong have cracked open their piggy banks to support our struggling farmers.

They join thousands of their peers from across the state who are banding together to raise money for drought-stricken farmers as part of the The Daily Telegraph’s Adopt A Farmer campaign.

The school raised $700 while St Joseph’s Primary School in Tweed Heads raised $455 and Bankstown West Public School raised $460 during their “dress like a farmer themed days”.

Alongside the fundraisers, students have also had lessons, where they learnt about the drought and wrote letters to those battling harsh conditions.

One student from Cammeray Public School, on Sydney’s lower north shore, wrote how her classmates went above and beyond the typical donation.

“The whole school participated in Adopt A Farmer, where the whole school dressed like a farmer and brought a gold coin donation (but some people brought in 10!) to send to you,” she wrote.