Hay of hope

By Kath Gannaway
YARRA Valley farmers are rallying to send hay to flood-stricken Queensland.
Dixons Creek fire survivor Sonia Lee Inglese and Evan Davidson of Country Emergency Response Group (CERG) are driving the project.
Thousands of bales of hay and silage have been promised after a call for help went out last week.
Ms Inglese said she was heart-broken as she watched the devastation of the Queensland floods unfold.
“It’s still so fresh in our minds, what happened with the fire and the wonderful response from up north,” she said echoing the feelings of neighbours Alba Aquilina and Christine Dove.
“I cried my eyes out then I just started ringing around all my neighbours,” she said.
Within hours she had promises of hundreds of bales of hay and by the weekend that commitment had grown to what Mr Davidson estimated at 6000 round bales of hay and 2000 bales of silage.
“We have been bombarded with hay this year and all the rain has given us good silage so many of us are in a position to help out,”
“A friend has eight acres and if someone can cut and bale it we can add 800 bales,” she said.
Ms Inglese and Mr Davidson said the response has been amazing, and not just from farmers.
One of the first to dive in was Sean Denny, a driver with Lilydale Lawns.
He was on the ground with the company’s water tanker on Black Saturday fighting the fire in Dixons Creek.
He didn’t hesitate when he was asked to pick up 30 bales of hay from Chirnside Park last week.
“You can’t always help financially, but you just do what you can do to help,” he said.
Christine Dove and Alba Aquilina both lost their homes and farms on Black Saturday and say the generosity of others was literally a life-saver.
“We got donations of hay and feed. We had no grass left at all and without that help our animals would have been starving,” Ms Dove said. “You didn’t realise just how many people really care,” Ms Aquilina added. Mr Davidson said they have the use of a shed in Kinglake to store the hay for as long as it takes but desperately need fuel.
“We need hay, round or square, hay cutters, people and machinery, pallets, new or used, but our most urgent need is for fuel to get the hay to Queensland,” Mr Davidson said.
“We have drivers with trucks willing to take the hay up to Queensland, but they can’t pay for the fuel,” Mr Davidson said.
Ms Inglese said people who don’t have hay can help with donations of fuel cards from the major fuel suppliers, or Coles gift cards which can be used at Shell outlets.
“The need is as desperate up there as it was down here,” she said.
“We need to help.”
Anyone who can help can contact Mr Davidson on 0411 533 248 or 9878 0311, or Ms Inglese on 0417 396 109.