By Jeremy Sollars
A cattle auction with a difference raised close to $50,000 for RACQ LifeFlight at the 2017 Stanthorpe Show.
The auction was held on the Friday of the show and involved a number of cattle donated by local producers keen to support LifeFlight, whose helicopters often cross the region’s skies on life-saving medical transport missions.
Local property manager Grant Macnamara of ‘The Ridge’ at The Summit – who has been transported by aero-medical services in the past out west – set the ball rolling by donating six steers for the auction and once word spread others got on board.
One of the LifeFlight choppers touched down in the show arena on Friday, to the delight of visitors.
With LifeFlight missions costing around $13,500 per flight, Friday’s auction could well end up saving three or four lives down the track.
Around 25 cattle in all were donated for the auction by local producers, with a total value of around $33,000, proving the generosity of the community.
Local agents and livestock transporters also offered their services for free to support the auction.
For more photos from this year’s Stanthorpe Show, see page 8.
