Rawlinna Station Flood - Help the Jacks & Jills

Hi everyone, my name is Gemma Chandler. My husband Craig and I work and live at Rawlinna Station in Western Australia. We are 380km East of Kalgoorlie on the Western side of the Nullarbor Plain.

Please visit our Facebook page with the same name as this fundraiser for more information to see the background story on these amazing Jillaroos and Jackaroos, and why we believe they really need some help right now.

link to FB page: https://www.facebook.com/share/wvXMy83DWL2r9AKK/?mibextid=dGKdO6

On Saturday the 9th of March 2024, we experienced the biggest flood in living memory on the Nullarbor. All of our buildings are flooded, some up to the roof, and the staff quarters are chest deep. Our hard-working Jackaroos and Jillaroos have lost everything. I would like to raise some funds to distribute between them so they can get their lives back on track. This money is not to be used to replace tractors or machinery or to rebuild anything except lives. The funds will be used to replace the jackaroos and jillaroos have lost such as clothing, bedding and tools. Basically everything these guys owned was here in their rooms. There are 13 Jackaroos and Jillaroos severely affected by this flood who have now lost everything they ever worked for. These men and women are some of the most incredible people you could ever meet. In their time here at Rawlinna, they stopped at nothing to make sure the sheep had the highest quality of care and they never hesitated to jump in and get the job done. They worked from well before dawn, until long after sunset and never complained or gave up. In pouring rain and searing heat they walked sheep, mustered paddocks, worked in the yards and fixed their bikes. These guys worked their butts off and even stayed up until 10 pm fixing their bikes just so they could be part of the next days muster. This is all while starting at 5 am. During a muster, they found a mob of sheep who had become bogged. They worked for four hours, carrying heavy unshorn ewes to get them to safety. These legends ripped their jeans off and dove into that bog hole with nothing but their undies and a work shirts on! Even the pilot landed the plane and rode out to help. That is the spirit in the workers at Rawlinna. This was during the January flood where we experienced no where near the current flood levels. These guys were completely selfless and didn’t stop until every last sheep had been saved. My husband and I are still here at Rawlinna Station and everytime I see those staff quarters it breaks my heart. Not one of these guys would ever ask for help but they would help anyone who needed it, human or animal. I know everyone is Australia is doing it tough at the moment and not everyone can afford to donate. But if you can spare a few dollars, your generosity would be greatly appreciated. I just couldn’t put into words how amazing these men and women are.

Below are some photos of the flood, some of the workers we are raising money for, and some of the sheep they work so hard for.

Rawlinna Station Jackaroos and Jillaroos are truly some of the most beautiful people you could ever meet. Thanks for reading this and I hope you can help our guys to rebuild their lives.