Member for Farrer Sussan Ley met with Telstra Area General Manager Chris Taylor and Carrathool Shire Council’s General Manager Joanne Treacy joined residents on Wednesday to officially launch the tower.

The one thing everyone agreed on: It was huge for safety, meaning another life wouldn’t be needlessly lost.

Grahame Young was working in Merriwagga in 2008 when he was attacked by a swarm of bees and sadly passed away.

The townsfolk say if he had reception to contact help, his life would have been saved. In a touching move, the new tower has a plaque dedicated to him.

Another lady collapsed on the dance floor at The Black Stump Hotel and passed away because emergency services couldn’t be contacted.

Carrathool Shire Council’s General Manager Joanne Treacy said the big thing was about safety.

“The young fellow who died was preventable, and in the past, going along Kidman Way, if you saw someone broken down you stopped because there was no phone coverage: are they OK? it’s 42 degrees and they are stuck on the side of the road,” she said.

“Now there is phone coverage the whole way, and you feel more comfortable that people are safe.”

Cr Treacy is delighted there is now the amenities to prevent another fatality from happening.

“I’m not downplaying economics and the other benefits, but for me, safety is paramount.”

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Kel Fry who owns the Old School Caravan Park welcomed the tower after hundreds of hours lobbying, and said it’s set to make a “huge difference.”

“A lot of people travelling through would come to stop, but when they found out we had no reception they wold keep on going, so it’s now a matter of breaking their routine,” Mr Fry said.

He said ten years ago they had an analogue service that worked quite well, but the new system didn’t work at all.

“At harvest time, truck drivers and contractors come through, and couldn’t contact anyone, so would continue on to Hillston or Goolgowi. We missed out.”

Owner of the Black Stump Hotel Sharon Stuart said it will make a huge difference to their business as well.

“I would have to go out to the park just to listen to messages,” she said.

“People would say, oh you have no phone service, and they would move on. In today’s day and age everyone wants and needs service.”

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Carrathool Shire Council’s General Manager Joanne Treacy said the Shire was the third largest producer in the state, and this step will help their economy.

“We have a very productive shire, we are the third biggest producer overall in the state – cotton, wheat, beetroot, potato, almond, walnuts, but we also have a very small population. So economy is a huge thing for us, so something like a mobile tower can make a huge difference for us.”

Tim McKenzie, Chair of the NSW Farmers Association and wheat farmer in Merriwagga said the benefits are “amazing” and about time.

“For 10 years, we were only able to make phone calls in the house, where we had an antenna on the roof as well as inside to draw reception from Hillston,” Mr McKenzie said.

He can now check wheat prices while sitting on the tractor, making his farming routine a lot more convenient.

“Not only that, but if I need to contact my truck drivers or other works and vice versa, we can now do that. We’ve been brought into the 21^st Century now.”

His wife conducts the postal run, and now has full reception all along her route, bringing a great deal of comfort in case of an accident or other emergencies.

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Telstra Area General Manger Chris Taylor expressed his pleasure over another black spot filled out of another 577 scheduled installations, delivering 3G and state of the art 4GX mobile data services to the area.“This is a significant moment for the community of Merriwagga, that joins more than 250 locations across

Australia that is now benefitting from more mobile coverage through Telstra’s delivery of the Mobile Black Spot Program,” Mr Taylor said.

“The new mobile base station at Merriwagga delivers Telstra’s 3G and state of the art 4GX mobile data services to the area for the first time.

“As the company offering more mobile coverage across the country than anyone else, we know the important role mobile technology plays helping people stay in contact with friends and family, and run businesses effectively.

“We are proud to be part of this important initiative which extends the latest technologies across regional and rural communities, along major regional transport routes, and in locations prone to natural disasters,” Mr Taylor said.

Federal Member for Farrer Sussan Ley said fixing these black spots allows local mobile users and travelers to conduct business or essential calls, right through to everyday and routine communication needs.

“The Merriwagga site is one of 14 local towers promised under our government’s Mobile Black Spots Program, and I am delighted it is up and running ahead of the busy Christmas summer period.

“Together with the local nbn rollout, it really is filling some communication gaps we’ve historically experienced in this part of the region,” said Ms Ley.

Member for Murray Austin Evans said this is great news for the community in and around Merriwagga.

“The new mobile base station will not only benefit but be important for residents and businesses to link with each other effectively with the latest technology,” Mr Evans said.