Talbot community rallies with heartfelt fundraiser for farmers family after heartbreaking accident

A tight-knit community in the Talbot in the state’s west are rallying behind a local farmer and his family after suffered serious injuries after diving into a dam.

Johnny Hogg and partner Grace Williams have experienced an awful six-month stretch

A get together with old friends ended in near-tragedy for a family from the state’s west with a man suffering injuries in a diving incident.

Johnny Hogg, a sheep and cattle farmer from Talbot, was looking to cool off in his livestock dam with some mates when he struck his head on a submerged rock, suffering a severe neck injury on January 3.

The father of two was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, before being transferred to the Austin Hospital where he still has no feeling in his arms and legs with further scans pending to determine the next steps in his treatment

“A few of us mates who grew up together were catching up at Johnny’s place and wanted to cool off,’’ close mate Lachlan Hull said.

Johnny Hogg is being treated at the Austin Hospital for his injuries. Picture: Ian Currie

“Johnny jumped into the water and hit his head on a rock. He broke his neck in the process, it was pretty heavy.”

The accident adds to the family’s ongoing challenges, coming just months after Mr Hogg’s partner Grace Williams was diagnosed with bladder cancer in June 2023.

Looking for a way to help his mate, who has two children aged six and four, Mr Hull decided to start a GoFundMe to take away some financial stress, with the

campaign raising almost $17,000 in just 48 hours.

“I spoke with the family first, to make sure they were all right with it. You just wanna help,” Mr Hull said.

“All the money raised will go straight to the family as they adjust to their new normal.

“The last thing the family needs is to be worried about logistics and administration at a time like this.”