NATIONAL COVERAGE: Hay drive heading to western Qld 

A St Arnaud business owner received a hero’s welcome as he entered the rural town of Cobar. 

“I’m coming down the main street as we speak, and it’s full of people waving and signs and things like that,” Hendy Transport co-owner Troy Hendy said at lunchtime today.

“And it’s not even for Cobar – it’s for a town a thousand or so kilometres north.”

He and a colleague are trucking up to Ilfracombe, Queensland, to deliver drought-stricken farmers a much needed supply of hay.

Their baled-up trucks are two of many making their way up from Australia’s southern states in an extraordinary show of mateship.

The initiative goes by the name of the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners and officially starts in Burrumbuttock, New South Wales. But Mr Hendy said his organisation was one of many coming from further afield.

“There are 130 – 140 trucks with us now,” he said.

“All along the road there are people joining in from different areas – it’s massive.”

He expected those numbers would swell considerably once the convoy reaches Augathella tomorrow.

“All the trucks that have come across from Queensland will jump on board with us there,” he said.

This is Mr Hendy’s second hay run for the year. He was involved in January and was so inspired, he decided to go for another round.

“Just after seeing how dry and desolate it was up there, I thought if I can do something just to help, I’ll supply a truck,” he said.

As it turns out, there was enough support from the St Arnaud community to warrant two drivers.

Mr Hendy and his colleague traveled more than 400 kilometres just to get to the starting point, and will cover almost 1700 kilometres from there to Ilfracombe.

That’s a round trip of more than 4000 kilometres to perform a charitable act. 

The St Arnaud farming community has donated about 80 hay bales to the cause. Fuel was funded by the town’s Rotary Club, and Mr Hendy said the local IGA donated $10,000.

“It’s a massive effort,” he said.

The population of St Arnaud, west of Bendigo, is about 2600 and is itself drought affected.

“That is why I’m just so thankful for the farmers and everyone around the area, because we’re doing it very tough as well,” Mr Hendy said.

“To give up one or two bales of hay, that might be the cattle or the sheep’s feed for the next week.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone around St Arnaud, that’s for sure.”

Mr Hendy expects to be unloading his hay bales at the depot in Ilfracombe by dinnertime tomorrow.

He said the hay run had shown him mateship was still alive and well in the farming community of Australia.

“The thank-you is unbelievable,” he said.