A lion of a convoy

By Jim Mynard
UPPER Beaconsfield businessman Graham Cockerell headed a hay relief appeal and delivery for commercial farmers burnt out by Victoria’s devastating firestorm.
Graham owns and runs Moonshine Motors at Upper Beaconsfield.
He has a solid farming background that led to an understanding of the ordeals facing dairy farmers who suddenly found they had no pastures and no hay.
He also experienced the Ash Wednesday fires at Cockatoo in February 1983.
Graham is a member of the Berwick Lions Club and with the club has been involved in providing hay to fire ravaged areas for nearly three years.
This work has been complemented by Lions club fund-raising events, in particular, the ‘Need for Feed’ festivals.
The Need for Feed country music festival and auction will be held at Pakenham Racecourse on Saturday, 14 March.
Graham was born at Apollo Bay and lived on a sheep farm until he was four when his parents moved to Noorat near Terang.
His father worked as an overseer on Black’s Sheep and Cattle Station, a property measured in square miles.
He attended school at Noorat and Dixie State Schools.
Later his father took on share dairy farming at Dixie, south of Terang and worked until he was in a position to buy his own farm at Timboon, but tragedy struck the family when his father died before taking over the new property.
Graham was 11 and experienced the down side of life when the family dreams were shattered.
“That was one thing for me that built empathy with farmers suffering from drought and fires.
“You feel that you should be doing whatever you can to help,” he said.
Graham said his mother remarried and they moved to Monbulk where he finished his schooling at Monbulk High School, and Ferntree Gully Technical School.
His first trade was spray painting and he became involved in the motor industry.
“We were living at Belgrave Heights and at 16 I joined the Belgrave Heights and South Fire Brigade,” he said.
This put him at the forefront for the Ash Wednesday battle.
During that period he also began working for himself and two years later bought his garage business at Upper Beaconsfield.
Four years ago the older firefighters were directed to take training courses and he was one of many experienced volunteers who withdrew.
“I just couldn’t get away for the courses so I retired from the brigade,” he said.
He is a past president of the former Rotary Club of Upper Beaconsfield and past president of the Lions Club of Berwick.
Graham and his wife Jeanette live on a 10ha hobby farm in A’Beckett Road, Narre Warren North.
“We saw the Bright and East Gippsland fires on television during 2006 and watched them for two weeks.
“Suddenly 10 houses were gone so I rang the Lions clubs in the area to see what we could do.
“They wanted hay,” he said.
Jeanette and Graham were harvesting their hay and immediately decided to have it taken to farmers in Gippsland.
Nothing was said at the time.
“We arrived during the early hours of the morning and they emptied the guys out of the pub to help us unload the truck.
“I don’t know what they were doing still in the pub at that time, but the load worked out to five small square bales a farmer, and they needed more so I came back to round up help.
“I spoke to the then Cardinia councillor Kate Lempriere and to the Gazette.
Barry and Joan Medwin gave us two truckloads and the Gazette ran a story to give us plenty of publicity.
“Then more hay came in, the shire gave us a drop-off point at Officer, and with more publicity the hay began flowing.
“Doug and Stan Hamilton suggested we have a fund-raiser and people came from everywhere to help.
“That became more than a Lions club event and we raised $23,000,” he said.
History repeated itself and as the 2009 fires gathered ferocity the district Lions clubs asked Graham to co-ordinate another appeal for hay and with it the Lions have organised another fund-raising festival.
He has co-ordinated all hay donations and distribution.
“I have to take some time away from the business, but my stepson Dean Lowson and stepdaughter Shae Lowson will fill in for me.
My youngest daughter Robyn, and Jeanette have joined in to help along with other members of my family.
“I guess this is a family affair as well as a Lions project.
“We raised $16,000 from stuff my mother and stepfather Ron and Jean Butler collected for the appeals.
“Right now we need hay and goods for the auction to be held at the racecourse on Sunday 15 March,” he said.
One new aspect of the hay convoys is the bute ute hay transports.
Graham said hay had been collected for drought relief in the Wimmera Malley and northern Victoria last year and the bute ute guys used their utes to transfer loads to Tatura.
“The Tatura ute convoy received lots of press coverage in the area and they were hosted by the locals so a serious job turned out to be lots of fun as well.
“The Lions Club put them up at the Tatura Racecourse so they made a party of it.
“They did the same again this year to move hay up to Boolarra in East Gippsland and for many it is their introduction to community service.
Six ute loads went to Boolarra on Sunday 8 February and a big convoy went to Churchill in Gippsland last weekend.
A semi-trailer and flat top loaded with 800 small bales of hay went to Marysville last Thursday.
Graham said the dairy farmers needed immediate feed for cattle to maintain their living.
“They are so desperate for hay with their hay sheds and grass gone and in many cases fences burnt out.
“We need donations of hay and we need volunteers to help with fencing to stop cattle straying.
“We provide electric fencer packs from the disaster fund to help with this problem and besides fences some paddocks will need re-seeding because of the intense heat,” he said.
Hay is flowing to farms, maybe not enough quickly enough, but the first wave provides farmers left with no feed for their cattle with a stop gap and a few days to collect their wits and get down to business again.
Concerts and festivals all over have been organised to raise money to help and this is happening at a time when the nation is reeling from a severe economic downturn.
With the sadness, comes a lifting of spirits as people gather together to help, and by the nature of our nation they will help.
‘Cars, guitars and stars’ are promised for the two-day Need for Feed country and music festival at Pakenham Racecourse on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March.
Saturday is 10am to midnight and Sunday 10am to 4pm.
Features include vintage and veteran, classic and custom, restoration, rods, rice burners, Harleys, hybrids, human powered vehicles, trucks, utes, tractors, and feral utes.
All proceeds go to the Lions Disaster Relief Program.
People wanting to help can ring Graham on 5944 4111 or 0419 744 664.