Wool growers and buyers heavily supported the charity wool drive at the Sydney Royal Show on 25th of March.
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The drive raised a total of $32,901.97 for the expansion of Macquarie Home Stay in Dubbo, supporting patients and their families who must travel to Dubbo to seek medical treatment.
The home stay was built in 2019 and has been working with health service and the NSW Government IPTAAS scheme to help ease the financial and transport burden on patients and families when receiving medical treatment, with 17 rooms available.
The auction 38 attracted bales from 25 wool growers around the state, with buyers paying up 20 per cent above market value to support the cause.
The top priced bale was a donated by Ben Mackinnon, Brewarrina, who donated four bales of stain which sold for $2800 total.
Another notable lot was a bale of over grown wool donated by Tureevale Partnership, Coolah, which was bought by The Schneider Group for $1844.
The average price across the sale was $865.85 per bale.
Don MacDonald, MacDonald Wool Brokers, Dubbo and Josh Lamb, Endeavour Wool were the main organisers of the wool drive.
"Josh and I grew up out in the western division of NSW," Mr MacDonald said.
"So we're more connected to the issue around people receiving medical help and having somewhere to stay in Dubbo.
"Otherwise they have to compete in the tourist market.
"If they happen to hit Dubbo in the school holidays, there's nowhere to stay.
"So this facility is just for people who are receiving treatment or waiting to receive treatment or their family.
"The first stage of the facility is completed and it's booked out the whole time."
Mr MacDonald said the wool drive has pledged $62,000, which will go towards the second phase of the expansion of the facility and cover the costs associated to fit out a two bedroom apartment, with all donations being community money.
"We're going to have three sales, with this being the first, another one will be in July and another one will be in December," he said.
"By the end of the year we know we will have reached our target to donate.
"If there aren't 100 wool growers part of this by then I would be very surprised.
"We're not asking growers to put up their top lines, it's just donating a bale of oddments as we saw here, there was some stain and some overgrown wool, but they all have a use."
