Post Scripts: Drought worries “down under”

A few readers may recall Kathy and I visited Australia and New Zealand in 1980 which I followed up with a story about our visit there, particularly the time we spent with Mr. and Mrs. Alan Singe on their ranch near Henty, which was not far from Wagga Wagga and Cootamundra and, of all places, Pleasant Hill. The family raised cattle, Angus and Murray Greys, and tended around 1,500 head of sheep.

Henty at that time was a community of 1,100 people. Located in New South Wales, situated in southern Australia. The Singes had five children and it was obvious everybody worked hard. It was on their ranch we saw our first honest-to-goodness kangaroo which, like our deer, steer clear of humans but one can spot them since their ears stick up several inches over the brush.

Then, in 1985, the Singes came to America and spent a few days with us in our home and we were able to take them to points of interest in town and out in the county. They seemed to truly enjoy our rural atmosphere and they were happy to get to visit briefly with a farm family or two. One stop we made was just north of town at the Bill Gibson farm where they had an opportunity to view his flock of sheep, a dairy operation and several breeds of exotic chickens.

Since Alan, at least at that time, raised horses as a hobby, he visited with several Amish farmers to discuss the breeding of fine horses, current prices and the construction of buggies. All this was detailed in a splendid feature article written by Georgia Maxwell, then a member of this newspaper’s staff, who has since graduated to become an elected county official, but who still occupies a place in our hearts.

While here, Alan solved a problem. In talking with the Amish, he learned how to repair a wheel on an antique buggy he had received from an uncle as a gift. He was greatly pleased to obtain this information.

Anyway, we had a letter from the Singe family this past week and learned things could be better for them at this time. I’m sure many readers have read about the terrible brush fires in Australia, and were able to see the extent of damage on the tv screen lately. In the letter Margaret said one of their daughters was only "two suburbs" away from a terrible firestorm. A member in the daughter’s church lost all their possessions. The couple had four children who escaped with only the clothes on their backs, plus a handful of personal items.

Two elderly men died in the blaze and a 37 year old woman, who went back in her house to retrieve photographs, did not survive. Another young man they knew lost everything but managed to grab his computer and a couple of expensive items before the fireball engulfed his home. Scenic mountains near their own home were over-run with six homes burned to the ground.

On the farming front, things are deteriorating. They feed their cattle every day, but water supply (due to drought) is a big problem. They obtain water from a small lake on their property. Farming is a gamble not only in Daviess County, but "down under" as well.

Kathy and I truly value our friendship with the Singes over the years.