In just two weeks a group of motorbike riders have raised more than $22,000 to help local residents who have been impacted by the current fires.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Avid motorbike rider and writer Boris Mihailovic was speaking with his good friend Andy Wright from the Walcha Motel a fortnight ago when he decided to get a group of mates together to visit Walcha and inject some funds into the town - and the Walcha Fire Run was born.
"I have a large Facebook following, and things just snowballed," Mr Mihailovic said.
"The plan was just to get a group together, book out the motel and spend some money around the town and it went from there - we thought if we raise two or three grand that would be great.
"We raised $22,500, and there are also two trucks of goods and feed which came up from Victoria.
"It's astonishing to see the broad range of people who have come here for the weekend - it is an eclectic group, and the generosity of people humbles me - I've had blokes hand me a wad of one thousand dollars and say "just put that in the kitty mate and don't worry about where it came from".
"We often cop a bad wrap from society, but at the end of the day we are helping people that have lost everything, and there is no higher calling than this."
there is no higher calling than this
- Boris Mihailovic
About 30 of the generous motorbike riders arrived in Walcha from across the country last Friday to spend the weekend.
Two trucks from Mr Mihailovic's friends in Victoria delivered donated goods, stock feed and food for wildlife on Saturday. That same day the visiting motorbike group rode out to Yarrowitch to visit the RFS and distribute $1,000 worth of OfficeWorks and Bunnings vouchers.
On Walcha Council advice, the money raised was deposited into the local branch of the Commonwealth Bank, to be distributed amongst 11 local families who have been identified by Council as being the most affected by the recent fires.
Each family will receive $1850, and Gary Hartas from Gingers Creek Cafe will receive $2081. Mr Mihailovic said he will retain $300 to cover postage and administration costs.
Read also