Convoy of hay ‘Kiwis in true form’
A Geraldine woman’s drive to get stock feed to struggling Nelson farmers has resulted in a dozen trucks loaded with hay heading for the firetorn region.
A seven-strong convoy left Christchurch at 3.30am on Friday, the first truck reaching Richmond Park Showgrounds at about 10am with the rest trickling in over the following few hours. Their arrival followed five trucks that made deliveries throughout the week, starting Sunday – two days after organiser Paule Crawford got a call for help.
She learned of the situation from a friend who had been evacuated from her farm and lost 12 months of stock.
Crawford’s first call was to Nigel Young of St Andrews’ Quality Feeds and Contracting. Five minutes later she had 120 bales to take – enough to fill four truck-and-trailers.
‘‘Probably a $6000 value for us but it was no problem donating it,’’ he said. ‘‘We may donate more, but we need to think about whether we’ve got more to donate.’’
Crawford said ‘‘well over 100’’ Cantabrians had pitched in hay, trucks, fuel, and labour to the cause since Young put his hand up.
Gerald Daldry of Protranz Earthmoving in Christchurch had offered his yard as a centralised depot. ‘‘It’s just snowballed. Without each of these people this couldn’t have happened,’’ Crawford said.
Federated Farmers would handle distribution of the hay once it reached its destination, she said. A bank account had also been set up for people wanting to contribute money to fuel, with anything left over going to firefighters battling the blaze.
Donations had come in from as far north as Levin and Cambridge, she said.
‘‘It’s been absolutely incredible and I can’t believe it. Kiwis in true form.’’
Hilton Haulage Timaru’s Chris Gard said he would be sending up two trucks on Sunday, at a cost of about $10,000. Gard was just happy to contribute, as companies from around the South Island had sent hay to Timaru in times of drought.
Crawford said she had not had a chance to think about whether the project would be ongoing after this weekend’s deliveries.
To keep updated on the project and for a list of contributors, follow the Nelson Fires Hay Convoy Facebook page.
The New Zealand Army Band is performing a a fire relief concert at Saxton Field on Sunday from 4.30pm. It’s a free event and donations will be collected for the mayoral relief fund.