The seven young primary school students at Hermidale Public School have a big project this year – they’ll be growing 85ha of wheat.
Story Ken Eastwood Photo Angie White
Hermidale Public isn’t what you’d call a big school. Located in a village with only a pub and post office to accompany it, 50km west of Nyngan, NSW, it has just one teacher and a teaching principal, and seven primary school students. But this year, thanks to the enthusiasm of everyone at the school and some very helpful locals, the seven students will grow 85ha of wheat on a paddock donated to them for three years by a former student.
“We may be isolated, but there’s no limit to what our students can and should experience,” principal Skye Dedman says. “We got through three years of drought and the mouse plague. We’re a very resilient community and we’ve all popped up after COVID and said, ‘Let’s do something amazing!’”
Former students and the local community have got right behind the project, donating machinery, fuel and labour to help prepare the paddocks for a December harvest that could generate up to $40,000 a year for the school.
This story excerpt is from Issue #143
Outback Magazine: June/July 2022
