Droughts that decimate our farms have a knock-on effect throughout the whole community; towns in the area can be under-resourced because - according to the Sydney-centric pollies – we’re on the “wrong side of the tracks” and our population goes through definite eras of decline, affecting schools and businesses.

We don’t have picturesque beaches or a constant 27-degree temperature like some more northern parts of our state.

But what we do have trumps anything Sydney-siders or beach-bunny Queenslanders show off about. 

It’s a community that cares about each other.

As the pages of today’s Cootamundra Herald demonstrate, mateship brings us together when the going gets tough.

A weekend event for little Jai Godbier saw $22,600 flood in from the community, adding to the already impressive fundraising efforts which will help support Jai and his family as he fights the incurable metachromatic leukodystrophy.

Meanwhile, despite an inner struggle during his short life, “knockabout bloke” Paul Dooner made those community ties too.

His mates will celebrate his memory at a trial match between Camden Rams and the Bulldogs on March 7.

Life is all about making connections. We should all be glad we’re in a community where it’s so easy.