IT DID not quite develop as the classic east coast low it threatened to late last week but a rainband across NSW and Victoria delivered some heavy totals of up to 150mm.
In conjunction, another rain event across inland areas delivered some useful falls through central and northern NSW, north-eastern Victoria and parts of western Queensland.
The weather focus now turns to Western Australia, where farmers in the state's south-west corner are hoping forecasts of up to 25mm come to fruition.
Chris Apps, a dairy farmer at Bega in NSW's South Coast region, said he had recorded 142mm throughout the rain event.
"It is a little early to start growing grass, we usually say that will start in mid-August when the days start to lengthen but it has put water in reservoirs and boosted the levels in farm dams so we are rapt."
Mr Apps said in spite of the massive tallies there had been less run-off than would be expected.
"It just came down nice and steadily, it was a great rain to fill up the soil moisture profile."
He said there was also good rain in the Monaro region, with Cooma recording around 40mm, which will be welcomed by graziers in the region.
The far NSW South Coast and Victoria's East Gippsland received the heaviest falls, with widespread totals in excess of 50mm.
Further to the north by Wollongong tallies were generally under 25mm.
It had earlier been forecast the heavy tallies would be seen over much of the NSW coast and into Queensland but the rain instead centred on the Vic / NSW coast.
However, other regions received rain earlier in the week.
Thargomindah in western Queensland received 52mm in an unseasonably heavy rain for that region.
In the state's cropping regions there was 5-10mm over the Darling Downs that was useful but not the meaningful precipitation farmers were hoping for.
It was a different story in north-west NSW.
Wayne Dunford, NSW Farmers Association board member, has properties near Parkes and Brewarrina.
At Parkes there was a welcome 14mm, but at Brewarrina, in the state's dry north-west, there was a welcome 30mm.
"It's looking really good in the north-west, it got a bit dry after a good start but then there has been great July rain," Mr Dunford said.
"The rain has been very patchy but there have been some very good falls."
At Forbes, Tom Green said there was 18mm.
"It was just perfect, we put urea out the week before and the rain will wash that in nicely," Mr Green said.
"If we'd had the full 50mm they'd predicted earlier in the week it would've got awfully wet, but now the profile is full but there isn't any waterlogging."
Through Victoria, the south-west received heavier falls than expected, with up to 25mm, but there was little in the state's key cropping areas.
It was a similar story in SA, where the best of the rain was in the high rainfall zones of the south-east.
The next big rain across the nation is now likely to be in south-west Western Australia.
John Snooke, who farms at Meckering, east of Perth, said things looked good, but more moisture would be welcomed.
"The crops are further progressed than at this time last year, where we had a later start and a wet June and couldn't put out urea, but there is probably not as much moisture underneath," Mr Snooke said.
"A good rain now would really set things up."