Once again the sun shone brightly and generosity flowed freely for the 18th Annual Woodenbong Fire Brigade golf, monster raffle and Melbourne Cup Calcutta day on October 30, held at the Woodenbong & District Golf Club.
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With around 70 golfers including men, women and children the golf course was alive with everyone laughing and having a good time, as well as some even hitting a ‘pretty good ball’. The golfers included a contingent from the Kyogle Social Golfers who have supported the day for many years.
As soon as the ‘3 person ambrose’ golf was completed, the afternoon became a frantic mixture of speeches, raffles and auctioning of the horses for the Calcutta. During the announcements the winners of the golf, which were drawn randomly from the field, were announced.
They were Brad Downham, Kiara Whalen and Oliver Downham who were ecstatic with the great prizes they received. The rest of the field didn’t miss out with prizes presented to two runners-up as well as two nearest-the-pins and a nearest-the-fireman.
Attention was then turned to the Calcutta with ‘punters’ fiercely bidding for a chance to grab a winner in the Melbourne Cup. With our usual auctioneer Paul McKey unable to attend, the duties of auctioning the horses was performed by local grazier John Smith with some help from Greg Gulliver, who filled in the crowd with all the latest information about the horses and jockeys.
The crowd was also treated to a monster raffle which was sponsored by many businesses in Woodenbong, Urbenville, Kyogle, Killarney and surrounds.
Captain of the Woodenbong Fire Brigade, Greg Gulliver, said “This day never seems to fail when it comes to the generosity of the community, with not only donations, but attendance on the day and hard work of volunteers and members which makes it all a success.”
He also said that approximately $3000 was raised on the day, after all costs were deducted, of which 50 per cent will be donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter appeal and remainder used for much needed equipment and items not normally supplied by the Rural Fire Service.
“The community welcomed the addition of the helicopter appeal as one of the recipients of the day, as the rescue helicopter is a vital service often used in these semi-remote areas,” Mr Gulliver said.
He also praised the Police, Ambulance, SES and a ‘bloody good Fire Brigade’ for the often unseen work that they do around Woodenbong.
Anyone wishing to join their local fire brigade please contact local members in their town or the Casino office of the NSW Rural Fire Service on (02) 6663 0000.
