Nyngan district’s Wye family has clocked up a century of farming years.
The achievement was celebrated with the presentation of a plaque from the Australian Century Farm and Station Awards to the Wye family by the Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton.
The Wye family’s connection to the 2227 hectare Soldier Settler block, “Yetambah”, began in 1917 with the return from World War 1 service by Sydney Wye, who was wounded at Anzac Cove on April 25, 1915.
Mr Coulton welcomed the opportunity to meet Sydney Wye’s son Gordon and his wife Nancy and the current owner and manager of “Yetambah”, Jon and Monique Wye in his Dubbo Electorate Office.
“Stories like this one are such a fabulous part of our history,” Mr Coulton said.
“The amount of work to establish a property like “Yetambah”, south of Nyngan, from scratch in that era was amazing.”
Australian Century Farm and Station Awards National Coordinator Nanette Aitken-McDonald said Century Farms is a unique program collecting and preserving stories of farmers and station holders who have worked their land for 100 years or more.
“Century Farms is a project established in New York State in 1937 by farmers to preserve the cultural significance of farming and agriculture to city dwellers,” Ms Aitken-MvDonald said.
For more information on the program, visit www.centuryfarms.org.au