We’ve heard some heartwarming stories at the Elmore Field Days. Here are a couple we thought we’d highlight.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
TWENTY years ago, Wes Blake was a musician “trying to make it famous”.
The singer and guitarist was part of the band that came runner-up to Killing Heidi in the Triple J Unearthed competition.
“It became too hard when my daughter was born,” Blake said.
He started searching for a more stable source of income, and found an opportunity detailing agricultural machinery.
Blake has been working for Case IH ever since, through both Echuca CIH and O’Connors Farm Machinery.
“I chose family over music – something I never regretted,” Blake said.
He enjoys his work. But Blake was adamant this would be his final field days for some time.
After 20 years, he’s been presented with an opportunity to travel. And he’s finally in a position to take it.
It was with a degree of nostalgia that he polished and primed the machinery for display.
Blake believed the Elmore Field Days had grown and become more family-friendly in the years he’d known it.
RELATED:
When life gives you lemons...
PEOPLE come from all over Australia to be part of the Elmore Field Days.
Roberto Ocampo travelled more than 600 kilometres from his ice-cream shop in Hahndorf, in South Australia, to be part of the event.
But his story started in the picturesque town of Sorrento, on the Italian coast.
Tough economic times forced Ocampo to make a choice: to stay in a beautiful place, but live a difficult life; or to pursue opportunities for a beautiful life in a new place.
“I love Australia,” Mr Ocampo said, hanging out the window of his food van.
The scenery could not have been more removed from those for which Sorrento is famed.
Instead of the Bay of Naples, the window opened to flat, dusty fields.
But one sight was familiar: people queued in front of a refrigerated case of gelati on a warm day.
“I like to cook,” Mr Ocampo said.
But hospitality was not his trade in Italy. He worked with shipping containers.
Mr Ocampo initially sought similar work opportunities in Australia, but he had greater success enrolling in commercial cookery courses.
The qualifications enabled him to work as a chef, which he did for some time.
But Mr Ocampo was drawn to the idea of creating his own gelati. So he risked it all to open his own business.
Had it not been for a scarcity of work in Italy, Elmore Field Days attendees might never have had the opportunity to try unusual varieties such as mango and sticky rice ice-cream.
“I’m always trying to do something different,” Mr Ocampo said.
We would love to see your photos from the field days, or learn more about the stories you think need to be told. Share your pics via the Bendigo Advertiser Facebook page, or on Twitter and Instagram with our handle @BgoAddy, or send an email to addynews@fairfaxmedia.com.au