A diverse catalogue of donated goods including a share in a racehorse, semen from valuable Merino stud rams, and large quantities of fodder, fertiliser and fencing materials, will be auctioned online from April 10-24 in aid of bushfire recovery at Yea in Central Victoria.
A range of goods will be put under the hammer by LAWD Auctions in the Yea and Districts Bushfire Charity Online Auction, with proceeds going direct to Yea’s Highlands Community Hub to assist local families affected by the devastating Longwood fire in January. Additional lots to contribute to the fundraising efforts are still also being welcomed.
The fast-moving Yea fire burnt more than 136,000 hectares, destroying dozens of residential and agricultural buildings, hundreds of kilometres of fencing, and causing significant livestock losses. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Highlands Community Hub, where it will be used to help local farmers, families, and community members as they recover and rebuild.
LAWD Auctions Senior Director – Operations, Paul Milner, said support for the auction had come from interstate as well as local donors, as businesses rallied to support people in bushfire-affected Yea.
“It’s been amazing. We have a really diverse lineup of auction items and many of them have been donated by businesses that are geographically a long way from Yea, like Mumblebone Merinos’ at Wellington, which has donated $10,000 worth of prized ram semen to help woolgrowers to rebuild their burnt-out flocks,” Mr Milner said.
“We have a share in a lightly raced three-year-old Thoroughbred filly, Stelletta, which has already won $20,000 in prize money, as well as prized sporting memorabilia including a jumper signed by the Matildas soccer team and an AFL jumper signed by Carlton great Harry McKay.
“With immediate need for fodder and grazing support, we can offer an incredible B double load of vetch and wheaten hay, 50-50 mix, to be delivered within a 250km radius of Bendigo or further afield by negotiation, as well as a pallet of Harwood Smart Chaff bags.
“Twenty 25kg bags of Accelerate and two bags of Italian ryegrass are on offer – they normally retail for $3,700 – and 30 round bales of pasture hay from the Yarra Valley which usually retails for $3,300.
“Every item will sell regardless of what it makes, so it’s a great opportunity for people across the country to help the Yea community with this rebuild.”
President of the Yea Football Netball Club, Peter Armstrong, said the rebuilding effort was now focused on cleaning up burnt fences and machinery, sorting insurances and turning attention to the future.
“We decided to run the Yea and Districts Bushfire Charity Online Auction because we get a lot of support as a sporting club from our local community and we wanted to give back. We didn’t want to hit up local businesses so we went further afield and people have been incredibly supportive,” Mr Armstrong said.
“Thirty of our members have already attended a working bee helping to clear fencelines and that sort of stuff, and we’re hopeful of raising about $20,000 to $30,000 which will be dispersed by the Highlands Community Hub.
“We’ve had one of our best starts to the autumn season in years so let’s hope the auction goes really well and we can help farmers and businesses get back on their feet.”
The Yea and Districts Bushfire Charity Online Auction starts Friday 10 April at 4pm and finishes on 24 April at 7pm.
A link to the online catalogue is available here.
