Shire of Corrigin & Corrigin CRC Newsletter - Edition No.6 - 31 October 2016

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Lyn Baker
Rodney and I have
recently returned from
almost 6 weeks in the
northwest. We travelled
up the Gibb River Road
where we climbed into
and out of lots of
magnificent gorges. We
went to Cape Leveque
and enjoyed visiting the
shell church at Beagle
Bay as well as joining a
tagalong tour out of
Kooljaman Resort. This took us into some areas only
accessible because we were travelling with an aboriginal
man, Brian Lee. Imagine my surprise when I was chatting
to him and he said he knew someone from Corrigin – Des
Matthews who was once the manager of the Small
Business Centre Eastern Wheatbelt, which was based in
Corrigin until a restructure of the Small Business
Development Commission’s services about 3 years ago.
According to Brian, if it hadn’t been for Des the Cape
Leveque resort project would not have been possible.
While he was based in Corrigin, Des gave sound advice to
many aspiring and existing business operators.
Apparently, his influence has spread far and wide.
One really good thing about our holiday (amongst many
good things!) was that we were away for the whole of
September. Although we were watching the weather at
home and we knew there had been a number of frosts, we
didn’t have to wake up in the morning and be confronted
by that dreadful vision of ice and certain damage to our
crops.
On our return, however, it became apparent that there was
significant damage, not only to our crops but to many in
our district. It appears that the frost damage this season
has been far more wide-reaching than usual. Farms which
don’t usually take a huge hit have suffered much greater
damage - and the consequences will be significant for
many rural communities.
A few days after I got home I had a phone call from a
female farmer who was very concerned about the effect
the frost was having on individual farmers, as well as on
our whole community. This led to the three community
barbecues which we have had over the past week. I am
very thankful to that lady for the call which made all of this
happen.
The three events were organised around the Bush Fire
Brigades, of which we have five. The Central and Eastern
Brigades decided that they wouldn’t have their own event
but that residents in those areas would be able to attend
any of the others. So we decided on Bullaring, Bulyee and
Bilbarin. Bullaring and Bulyee were able to combine their
BBQ’s with the opening of their new Fire Truck sheds.
About 170 people attended the events.
All three events were attended by a Counsellor from
Regional Men’s Health, who gave out some contact details
so that people would have someone to call if things got too
tough. Regional Men’s Health also awarded the Shire a
grant to assist in the catering for the three BBQ’s.
Simon Wallwork, from Corrigin Farm Improvement Group,
spoke about nutrient requirements after a frosted crop and
about the importance of budgeting a holiday as a priority.
One of Simon’s suggestions was to not harvest those
severely damaged crops yourself – get your workman,
neighbour, father or mate to do it for you. Great idea! Why
put yourself through it?
We were surprised and delighted that other unsolicited
support was forthcoming. Aglime, Primaries, Neu-Tech,
CBH, CFIG and CSBP all made contributions to the
events. I thank all of those organisations for their support
of these events.
The main message for everyone at the three barbecues
was to look after yourself and each other. To not rush into
making decisions while under great pressure and to know
that there is help just a phone call away. We need to look
out for our friends and encourage them to seek help if they
need it.
Frost aside, it seems that harvest is underway, or close to
it. This means more trucks on roads and potentially more
hazards. Please take extra care this harvest and try not to
think about “what might have been”.
Lyn
LYN BAKER
Email: Phone: 9065 7053
MESSAGE FROM SHIRE PRESIDENT
Strengthening our community now to grow and prosper into the future
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