Drought pic goes viral
Image of cattle, dam near Oakey
A TOOWOOMBA photographer’s heartbreaking shot of a drought-stricken property just west of Oakey has gone viral online.
Veronica Sorley was riding in her father’s plane over Oakey on Saturday when she spotted a small herd of cattle near a greenish dam.
And surrounding the cattle? Nothing but dry dirt and grass.
Mrs Sorley said she took more than 1000 shots during her flight last week, but said the stark image of cattle staying close to the only water source encapsulated the nature of drought.
“I think the stark factor was the green in the dam and the cattle standing around it,” she said.
“I’ve done a lot of flights over the years, and usually you see cattle everywhere.
“That was the only spot I saw a lot of cattle in one place.”
Mrs Sorley’s post on her photography Facebook page, where she expressed her sorrow at the state of the land, has now been shared more than 2700 times in just 12 hours.
“The scene that nearly made me cry. This scene is not out west, this is between Oakey and Toowoomba, the hub of the Darling Downs where cattle graze and we grow crops,” she wrote.
“The drought that is claiming our country like a cancer.”
As of July 2, more than 57 per cent of Queensland, including the Toowoomba region, has been declared drought-stricken.
The issue has now become a national focus, with calls for the Federal Government to invest more in drought relief.
Mrs Sorley said her friends and family had remarked on the severity of the drought.
“I think everybody is saying that this is the worst we’ve seen in 100 years,” she said.
“My father said in his lifetime, he can’t remember seeing it so dry.
“When people on the land are saying it’s dry, you have to listen.”
Mrs Sorley encouraged readers to donate to Buy-A-Bale and Drought Angels.