Mayor will send tractors on their fund-raising trek around Cabonne

Published on 09 October 2018

Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty will drop the flag to send about 30 tractors on their way on Saturday to begin the 2018 Central West Tractor Trek around Cabonne Shire.
The event, which raises funds for Little Wings Children’s Flight Services, will start at 8.30am at Molong Showground and pass through Manildra, Cumnock, Larras Lee, Boomey, Mullion Creek, Dawson Gates, Clergate, March and Belgravia.
Participants will gather at Molong Showground on Friday for registrations, safety checks and briefings and a mini-afternoon trek.
The tractors will travel to Manildra and Cumnock on Saturday, arriving at Manildra’s Amusu Theatre at 10am and Cumnock Bowling Club at 12.40pm.
On Sunday the trek again will leave Molong Showground at 8.30am, arriving at the Mullion Creek Rural Fire Service shed at 10.30am and Clergate School at 12.30pm before returning to Molong prior to a dinner at the showground that night.
Organisers are hoping to raise $100,000 to fund 80 mercy flights from the Central West to Sydney for sick children.
Cr Beatty urged people to view the tractors along the route and contribute to the fund-raising cause.
“The Tractor Trek Group does an outstanding job supporting the Little Wings charity,” he said.
“You can imagine the emotional strain on parents when they learn their child is seriously ill or needs urgent treatment. But when those parents live hundreds of kilometres from the nearest specialist children’s hospital, the logistics and financial burden increase significantly.”
Cr Beatty said this situation becomes emotionally draining when it means one or both parents have to be away from their child or their home while their loved one receives treatment.
“This is where the Tractor Trek Group steps in to raise money to fly families from regional NSW to children’s hospitals in the city.”
Cr Beatty said Cabonne Council was honoured the group decided to hold the trek in Cabonne Shire this year and was very pleased to support the event with $1,000 in funding through the Council’s Events Assistance Program.