As the lakes run dry and the tap water runs brown at Menindee, there’s a wellspring of support bubbling away in Griffith.
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It started on Monday when Dale McCleary announced that he would be driving down to Menindee to give bottles of fresh water to the locals.
Within minutes he had received dozens of calls from people wanting to pitch in with money and bottles of water, and his phone has not stopped ringing since.
The tidal wave of support has been so strong that he has started storing pallets of water bottles out the back of Irrigation Specialists Australia, where his friend Scott Grinly has been managing the towering stacks.
Mr Grinly has also been putting the good word out on his radio show on 2MIA FM, and he has described the response as phenomenal.
Mr McCleary’s original plan of driving down with his trailer has been rendered impractical by the sheer number of donations, but several trucking companies have already signaled their willingness to lend him one of their trucks.
He plans to drive down over the Australia Day weekend to help out the locals and show them the Aussie spirit that burns brightly in Griffith.
Mr McCleary said he was deeply moved by Griffith’s willingness to jump to the support of those in need.
“Griffith is an amazing place; the camaraderie and the way we do good things for one another is incredible,” he said.
“No politician is really fair dinkum about helping out this side of the mountains, so we need to help each other.”
Mr McCleary said it broke his heart to see thousands of fish die in the putrid Menindee waters, and that he could not stand by and watch helplessly as the town suffers.
It’s not the first time Mr McCleary has sprung to the aid of others; during the Black Saturday bushfires he drove all the way down to Kinglake to help those who had lost everything.
Bottles of water can be dropped off at Irrigation Specialists Australia on Banna Avenue and questions can be directed to Mr McCleary on 0428 314 270 or Scott Grinly on 0401 356 305.
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Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
