Padthaway, the town with so many volunteers that even the kids help out

They are a helpful bunch in the Naracoorte region southeast of Adelaide, where more residents volunteer than don’t.

Bill Longbottom, Archie McGregor in his 4WD chair and other Padthaway kids. Picture: Kelly Barnes

They are an especially helpful bunch in the grape growing and sheep farming region southeast of Adelaide, where more residents volunteer than don’t.

Lending a hand is a way of life there, because not much would get done if only paid workers pitched in, locals say.

Census data analysed for The Weekend Australian by demog­rapher Bernard Salt has found that 51.6 per cent of residents are volunteers in Naracoorte and the smaller communities nearby, including Padthaway, where the population is just 318.

The helpfulness takes many forms — some fund­raised for three years to buy a CT scan, while a men’s shed repairs broken kindergarten toys and the local church runs a friendship group with morning tea and craft.

Mayor Erika Vickery says new residents are quick to take part: “If you go to our Vinnies store, you will see migrants from Afghan­istan folding the clothes. This ­culture of helping each other makes it such a nice place to live.”

Grape grower Bill Longbottom is a bit embarrassed to be singled­ out for his volunteer work — he says others, including his wife, Bronwyn, do a lot more.

He says he has learned a lot since joining the ranks of dads coaching Auskick — each Thursday afternoon he now waits near the town oval for the school bus to deliver 18 excited seven-year-olds, including Arch­ie­ McGregor, who trains in his 4WD wheelchair with special fat tyres.

“It’s challenging to train that many little kids: I am getting better­ at it but it’s made me really appreciate what schoolteachers do,” he says.

“I’ve learned you have got to keep the drills short because they tend to want to do their own thing a fair bit. You can’t let the footballs anywhere near them when you’re talking to them and you have to sit them down or they just start tackling each other.”

But he says the job is also a joy: when the Padthaway A-grade men have a home game, it’s showtime for his team.

They run on at half-time, along with any children of players from visiting teams. “We just include­ the lot of them because it’s not very nice for a kid to have to be on the sideline while other kids are having fun,” he says.

On match days, Archie has been a goal umpire. He has SMA syndrome, a gastrovascular disorder that stops him from walking, but he can catch the ball and roll it in the direction of his choice.

Mr Longbottom says that, in one of the kids’ favourite drills, teams co-operate to pass the ball to Archie. Whichever team does it first is the winner. “They have to get it into Archie’s hands and that stops the clock,” he says.

He says watching his son Toby and other children help Archie has been a highlight. “It’s not ­really that he’s in a wheelchair, they are just great mates. They ­really take it on board to look after him.”

Archie’s mother, Kate McGregor, agrees: “It’s made a huge difference to feel part of a team.”