A livestock carrier has jumped at the chance to help out fire victims.
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The hay will be delivered to those who have been devastated by the devastating fires that wiped out thousands of hectares in recent days.
The plan was the brainchild of brothers Adam and Paul Manwaring, as well as Cootamundra’s Andrew Glover.
Adam is a livestock carrier from Uranquinty and Paul works in Cootamundra but used to manage a property near Coolah in the state’s north.
Rather than sit back and shake their heads at the devastation the pair took to social media on Sunday and established a page called Helping Hand for a Mate on the Land on Facebook.
The response to the page was so overwhelming that they secured more than 500 large and small bales by Tuesday morning. And the donations were still rolling in.
“There are a lot of sheep and cattle in those areas that have been affected, and we have some good friends who we wanted to help out,” Adam said.
“It started out as an idea to just send a couple of trucks … but it has just grown from there, the phones haven’t stopped,” he said.
“I think this gives a chance to so something, it could have been us down here.”
Cootamundra Saleyards manager, and Australian Saleyards Managers Association president, Jeff White said the response was enormous.
“It is unbelievable,” he said.
Mr White said he had been called out to fight the Stockinbingal fire and later received a text about the hay drive.
“This has snowballed, we have got more hay than what we have trucks,” he said.
Mr White said the response had certainly showed the power of social media and also the amount of generosity in rural areas.