A TRADITION more than 60 years in the making was carried out again this season with the harvesting of a 22 hectare crop, the proceeds of which go to Mingenew Primary School.
The Mingenew PS P&C community crop dates back to 1959 when a 60 acre block of land was bequeathed to the children of Mingenew.
However the reason for the generous gift goes back even further to the birth of Francis Carleton Burges on November 1, 1892, at Irwin House, about 50 kilometres south of Geraldton.
After Francis' father died in 1893, his mother returned to live in Ireland with her four children.
He lived and was educated in Ireland until he enlisted in the Irish Guards in Belfast in 1914, but during that time his mother made many return journeys to Irwin House.
Francis was shipped out to France to fight during World War I and after being wounded several times, he succumbed to fatal head injuries on September 19, 1916.
Mingenew PS P&C president Hellene McTaggart said despite not having fought under the Australian flag, Francis was noted as a 'native of Irwin House, WA' and listed on the Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll and on the War Memorial in Dongara.
"In 1959, the Mingenew Primary School was built at the site on which it stands today and in the same year, Esther Temple Russell, who was Francis' sister, had correspondence with the Mingenew Roads Board," Ms McTaggart said.
"That correspondence was regarding a cairn and a 60 acre (22ha) block of land to benefit the children of Mingenew, irrespective of race, religion or background, in memory of her dearly loved brother Francis Carleton Burges, who was killed in WWI."
The block was not fully cleared until about 1965-67 when volunteers from the school community got together to pick stumps and tidy it up with a view to cropping.
From then until the early 1990s a P&C cropping committee was formed to manage the block and crop, using volunteer time from the school community and donations of equipment and inputs.
"In 1993, Stuart and Cherie Smart, who owned the surrounding land of Erregulla Plains, took over and provided all of the management and inputs of the community crop, managing it as their own but with all of the proceeds going to the school," Ms McTaggart said.
"They did that for more than 25 years until they sold Erregulla Plains to Daybreak Cropping at the beginning of 2020 and since then, both last year and this, Daybreak has taken over that tradition and managed all aspects of the crop.
"They cover all inputs, machinery and labour and manage the 22ha block with the same care and consideration as their own 18,000ha program."
This year, that 22ha was all seeded to canola, a decision made by Daybreak that has paid huge dividends given the soaring prices being fetched.
The funds from the crop go directly to benefit the children of Mingenew by providing resources, infrastructure and programs for all students who pass through the local school doors.
Ms McTaggart said as a small regional school where students numbers declined, funding became harder to source.
"Most of the school's funding is spent on wages and other core elements, so the funding from the crop is a massive boost for a school of our size to be able to keep up with technology and all of the extras that kids deserve," she said.
"The funds are used for everything including furniture, reading resources and a number of incursion and excursion activities.
"Over the past two years, the P&C has also funded the installation of a nature playground in the school which was a very significant investment that the funds of the crop was used for."
The P&C has also been fortunate to have had long-term support from grain marketer Peter Hobbs, who provides his services for free.
Ultimately that means that apart from storage and handling fees and levies, the community crop is a very low-cost exercise, with all of the profits going through to the school, via the P&C.
"Having never lived in WA, Esther Temple Russell could not have known or understood what a huge impact her generosity would make to our community," Ms McTaggart said.
"It's a gift that keeps on giving and will continue to do so for many future generations of Mingenew young people, so we feel very fortunate to be the benefactors of not only Esther Temple Russell, but also the Smart family and now Daybreak Cropping.
"None of them ever expected anything in return, so it really is philanthropy in its purest form."
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