Above: Sir George Hubert Wilkins (from Australian Dictionary of Biography, originally, Ohio State University).
It has been said of the explorer and adventurer, George Hubert Wilkins, that, as a child in rural South Australia, he was puzzled by the then drought. He heard that, to understand climate, one needs to explore the polar extremities of the earth. So that is what he endeavoured to do.
Sadly, many nations of our world are afflicted by natural disasters. In my own country of Australia we are in drought. It is not new for us. But it is always a challenge. What follows are a set of some news items about how people show support in time of drought.
A convoy of helpers travel from Sydney with supplies for rural NSW. A drought relief concert lifts the spirits some some in NSW . Then there is….
The Burrumbuttock Hay Runners
Previous generations of my Mother’s family lived on livestock and farming lands in the Walbundrie District of NSW. Near there is the town of Burrumbuttock. There, the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners do their good thing. Here is a sample from their website
THE BHR STORY
In 2014 Brendan ‘Bumpa’ Farrell heard about a farmer in Bourke (NSW) that was struggling in the drought. He contacted the farmer and offered to bring him a truck load of hay to help him out. From that the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners was born. Since that date in 2014 they have completed 11 successful hay runs to help drought affected farmers all over NSW & QLD.
You can also follow the Hay Runners on Facebook.
Image: from the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners website.
Our co-hosts for this month are:
Simon Falk, Andrea Michaels, Shilpa Garg, Sylvia Stein and Belinda Witzenhausen . Please go and visit their posts as well.
My poem this time is a Drought pingback from one I wrote when I was 11 years old.
Simon's still stanza 