Staff at Tenterfield’s Commonwealth Bank branch are flat out bringing together a trivia night to raise funds for the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners’ effort to deliver donated hay to drought-stricken farmers. Branch manager Debbie Minns said each branch in the region is undertaking its own fundraising campaign, spurred by the stories they’re hearing over the counter from their rural customers.
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One told a staff member at the Moree branch, ‘I’ve hidden my husband’s hearing aids so he can’t hear our cattle bellowing for feed. He said if this keeps up he will shoot them, then himself.’
Mrs Minns said she’d been told similar things by local farmers, where lack of water is a big problem along with feed.
To raise awareness of the plight and also much-needed funds, the bank’s trio are organising a trivia night at the Tenterfield Golf Club on Saturday, June 23 starting at 6pm. They are borrowing much of the successful format of the recent Rotary Trivia Night, with the sanctioning and indeed logistical support of club members.
You can catch Peter Chittick down the street raffling off an extra large load of red gum firewood, and he has also volunteered to be doorman on the night.
Staff members are putting together the questions, and Mrs Minns promised they would all be Australia-related.
Tables of 6-8 can be booked through the bank by calling (02) 6736 1083 but those without a team can be placed in one on the night. There will be plenty to entertain even those without a trivia-calling, with the sets of trivia questions to be interspersed with charity auctions offering some hefty incentives.
Included in the mix is a two-night City Lights accommodation package at Rydges on Brisbane’s South Bank valued at more than $550, three hours work from Dan the Tree Man, a $200 gift voucher from Townes Contracting, kitchen appliances, car detailing, an Akubra hat, hampers from Our Place and Soul Pattinson Chemist, gift vouchers from local outlets, a wheelbarrow from Mitre 10 and even an Artists’ Collective Studio artwork purchased on behalf of the fundraiser by Jennings and Kneipp.
Mrs Minns said the donations continue to come in, and local businesses have been very supportive.
“No-one has said ‘no’,” she said.
She’s also awaiting confirmation of a helicopter ride over Tenterfield, to sweeten the pot even further.
Tables for the night are already being booked and there’s plenty of interest around, so it’s best to get in early. Mrs Minns is aiming for at least 20 tables and to raise $2,500 for the worthy cause.
“That would be good for a town the size of Tenterfield,” she said.
The night might also receive a drop-in guest in the form of the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners’ Brendan Farrell, who just received an Order of Australia medal for his service to primary industry.
Table bookings have to be in by next Thursday, June 21. If you can’t attend on the night and want to support the cause, donations can still be made through the branch.
