Nyabing News. Nyabing News.
Nyabing is a small but vibrant community in the Great Southern Agricultural region of Western Australia. It has an active progress association made up of mainly younger members of the community – The Nyabing Community Hub. Due to the Hub’s activities Nyabing is often featured in mainstream media for the community’s go-ahead can-do philosophy.
From On the Land, produced by
The Great Southern Weekender.
Words: Ashleigh Fielding
NYABING NETWORK
Nyabing CWA President Alyson Cooper and CWA of WA State President Heather Allen.
HE Country Women’s Association has always had a place in the heart of farming communities and families. They were the group of ladies in your nearby country town cooking the scones for the school fete, knitting clothes for those in need, volunteering at accommodation sites, teaching each other domestic skills and were a support network for people on isolated properties.
They were also the group of ladies fighting for women’s rights and lobbying for educational, recreational and medical facilities in rural areas.
In Nyabing, it has been no different. Their CWA branch has been deeply embedded in the community for the past 85 years and if current president Alyson Cooper has anything to do with it, the group will continue to press forward into the future. From raising money for local groups to helping subsidise school swimming lessons, you name it, Nyabing CWA has done it.
For the branch’s 85th birthday in May, Ms Cooper said around 50 people from Nyabing, neighbouring districts and CWA’s top brass battled extreme weather conditions to travel to the country town, raise a glass and dig into some birthday cake to celebrate the great achievement. The large turnout proved the significance of the CWA branch and how much the group’s work has been appreciated. Ms Cooper said after a bit of research prior to the birthday celebrations, she calculated the branch had raise $97,468 for Nyabing. “It’s an amazing amount,” she said.
“To think, for 40-odd years we had only five members, and around 20 members in the early days, yet we still managed to raise this amount.” Today’s Nyabing CWA has 11 members, of which the youngest is 10 weeks old and the eldest is 86. The current longest serving member, Jo Addis, has been with the branch for 49 years and received an honour badge in recognition at the birthday celebrations. “The only generation we are missing is the 60 to 69 age group,” Ms Cooper laughed. “That’s the best part of CWA, it’s multi-generational.”
When discussing the 85th birthday and the Nyabing CWA’s importance, the passion for the group is clear in Ms Cooper’s voice. She reflected on how the branch supported her when she felt isolated upon arrival to the town many years ago. “It’s different nowadays,” she said. “Kids take over the family farm and their parents travel around, so there’s no family around you. “In the old days, you had family everywhere. “I had no family support when I came here, but when my kids were little, the CWA was there for me.
“That’s the thing with CWA girls, you have this link…it’s like seeing a long-lost friend. “CWA is a wide network and you’ve always got these friends, no matter what town you are in.”
Looking toward the future, Ms Cooper said the branch’s building has been undergoing renovations so it can last “at least another 50 years, hopefully”, but said the fate of the group all depends on the future of farming.
Even Hurst line the pick of Newdegate
COUNTRYMAN
14 September 2017
Anne Rawlings
State Ewe Hogget Competition coordinator Stephen Chappell, Dyson Jones Wool Marketing Services WA manager Peter Howie, WT & MC Hurst farm manager John Jolley and judges Sam Howie, of Corrigin, and Michael Campbell, of Coromandel Stud, Gairdner.Picture: Ann Rawlings.
Judging the State Ewe Hogget Competition often takes careful consideration, with producers presenting their best at the Newdegate Machinery Field Days. With 11 quality entries in this year’s competition, the task of selecting the best pen was not for the faint-hearted. But judges Michael Campbell, of Coromandel Stud, Gairdner, and Sam Howie, of Corrigin, were well up to the task, choosing a very even line of ewes from William and Michael Hurst’s Nyabing farm. Continue reading
Positive outlook after ‘roller coaster’ season
COUNTRYMAN
17 August 2017
Rueben Hale
Nyabing farmer Braden Johnston says using CBH fertiliser has helped to improve the farm’s profits in a tough season. Picture: Rueben Hale Countryman.
Nyabing farmer Braden Johnston is hoping to have a slightly better than average season, after taking a “roller coaster ride” to get there. Mr Johnston, who farms with wife Kate, said they watched their 3100ha barley, wheat, canola, lupins and oats crop come back from the brink several times after almost no rain in April and June caused a false start to the season on two occasions this year. This year they planted 980ha barley, 860ha wheat, 860ha canola, 240ha lupins and 190ha oats, alongside 3000 Prime SAMM sheep. Continue reading
A FARMER COMPLETES HIS LAST HARVEST AFTER 70 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS
ABC Great Southern WA Country Hour
Posted 23 January 2017
Leo Tuffley stands with the first harvester he ever drove.
A Western Australian farmer is dusting off the harvester for the last time after 70 years in the business. Leo Tuffley, 84, has been in Nyabing, a small town about 300 kilometres south-east of Perth, his whole life. This year he is not just saying goodbye to a life-long career, but a lifetime of working on the same farm. During his early years he grew up on a farm property “down the road”, but for the last 65 years he has been on the property that now belongs to his son. Continue reading
FUNDING BOOST TO EXPAND PUB BOUGHT BY NYABING COMMUNITY
ABC Great Southern
10 December 2015
By Karla Arnall
With a population of under 300, the small town of Nyabing came to public attention in 2014 when locals rallied to buy the only pub in town as it was on the verge of closing
The farming town of Nyabing has received a boost for expansion after receiving $825,000 in federal funding for its community hub. Nyabing Progress Association came to public attention in 2014 after buying the only pub in town with funds raised through community cropping. The association has since turned the fate of the local institution around and do not plan on slowing down any time soon. Continue reading
GREAT SOUTHERN FARMING TOWN GROWS COMMUNITY CROP TO BUY LOCAL PUB
ABC Country Hour
22 June 2015
By Bridget Fitzgerald & Olivia Garnett
Nyabing Inn licensee and manager Alyce Caldwell with Fiona Martin and Braden Johnston from the Nyabing Progress Association
As cities grow, many smaller regional towns are shrinking, but in Western Australia’s Great Southern region one community is fighting back. Three years ago a group of farmers in Nyabing, about 330km south-east of Perth, had the opportunity to buy into a share farm. After two successful seasons the group that manages the crop, the Nyabing Progress Association, was able to purchase the town pub, the Nyabing Inn. Nyabing Progress Association vice president Fiona Martin said the group was now focused on a future cropping program to fund the restoration of the pub. “There are some immediate works in terms of accommodation and the dining and meals area,” she said. Continue reading
PLEASING RESULT AT NYABING
FARM WEEKLY
19 March, 2013
Tony Hughes-Owen
Discussing the JD 8650 tractor were Sheldon (left) and Greg Garlick, Katanning with Caltex Albany representative Simon Messina. The tractor later sold for $25,000
A POSITIVE result was how Ashley and Julie Ramm described their thoughts at the end of their recent clearing sale and as such their farming activities south west of Nyabing. It was a very good presentation of sundries, plant and machinery which had obviously been well maintained and housed and it was just two of their larger items of machinery which Landmark auctioneer and local agent Mark Warren was unable to find buyers for at the reserve prices. Continue reading
REAPING THE REWARDS
FARM WEEKLY
Bobbie Hinkley
19 December, 2012
The underlying value of the day was the strengthening of community relationships in the small town.
Three demonstrator machines, including the John Deere S680, Massey Ferguson 9560 and New Holland CR9090 joined seven local grower’s harvesters to harvest Nyabing’s community crop. The Nyabing Progress Association (NPA) took advantage of fine weather last Saturday morning to harvest 560 hectares of community crop.The crop was established in June when up to 20 local farm businesses, six air seeders, four spray rigs and countless nurse tanks, seed trucks and support vehicles, spent nine hours sowing the Vlamingh barley paddocks north of town, in a joint project with Wellard Rural Exports. Continue reading
Return to HOME Page
Visit the LOST NYABING Facebook Group
Visit the LOST KATANNING Website
nyabing news. nyabing news. nyabing news. nyabing news. nyabing news.