This year’s Dookie, Devenish and District Good Friday Appeal’s online auction might eclipse its total from last year with just one item.
Last year, the auction raised $43,000 on the way to $120,000 for the year, reaching more than half-a-million-dollars raised by the group for the Royal Children’s Hospital in the past seven years.
The event is back with a bang, and the local community has been “more generous than ever”.
DDDGFA president Paul Durden said the auction had its best list yet, with local businesses calling him up and asking what they could donate to the cause — instead of the other way around.
“It’s just amazing,” Mr Durden said.
“Some businesses might have donated one or two things last year, and this year have offered us a dozen things this time around.
“That continued support is really valuable, and we’re so thankful for the generosity.”
Iconic Shepparton business Furphys has donated a commemorative tank end to the auction.
The tank end is one of 15 created last year to commemorate 150 years of the business manufacturing in Shepparton.
It is cast the same way the water tank ends have always been created at Furphys, but is made of aluminium and has an updated quote written in shorthand relating to the value of friendship.
It is one of three of these special tank ends that have been made available to the public through similar charity auctions, all raising money for a great cause.
One of the tank ends sold for about $50,000 in an auction at Shepparton’s Museum Of Vehicle Evolution last year, making the team at DDDGFA hopeful the boost from the tank end could lead to almost a doubling in funds raised from the auction.
Furphy Foundation co-director Adam Furphy said Furphy Museum curator Josh Powles connected Furphys with the team at DDDGFA.
“The Good Friday Appeal is about as good a cause as you can get,” Mr Furphy said.
“The Dookie and Devenish district is a great area, a great community who have been great supporters throughout the years.”
Both Mr Furphy and Mr Durden agreed it wouldn’t take long to find someone in the region who owned an old piece of Furphy history, maybe a tank end in the backyard or hung up on a wall somewhere.
For Mr Durden, it was a full-circle moment.
“I’ve been familiar with Furphys all my life,” he said.
“I’ve sold record-setting Furphys tanks as an auctioneer.
“There’s a lot of great causes and charities out there.
“For the Furphy family to do this for us, it really means a lot.”
DDDGFA treasurer Chelsea McKay joked that the news had “made an auctioneer speechless”.
Beyond the addition of the tank end, Shepparton farm equipment business Haeusler’s has donated a John Deere S10 ride-on mower to the auction.
Group sales manager Tom Haeusler said as a local family-owned business, the cause was a no-brainer to support, especially given the Dookie and Devenish district’s deep agricultural ties.
“There’s a lot of green tractors in that area,” he said.
“A lot of farmers that have supported us over the years.
“We’re more than happy to pass it on (the mower) to the community for the greater good.”
Mr Durden said Haeusler’s had supported the cause from its inception.
“They’ve upped the ante this year,” Mr Durden said.
“That ongoing support means the world to us.
“For us to have that relationship and continue to have them involved over the years is really special and a big reason the appeal has been able to grow to what it is today.
“We cannot thank them enough.”
The online auction kicks off at 10am on Tuesday, March 12, and will run for a week before closing at 2pm on Tuesday, March 19.
The auction will take place on the Kevin Hicks Real Estate clearing sale online auction website.
With about 250 lots (up from about 180 last year), from collectibles to rural supplies, assorted vouchers, accommodation packages, crystals and more, there’s something for everybody.
All lots available for purchase have been donated by local businesses or the wider community, and all proceeds will go to supporting the Royal Children’s Hospital, creating a brighter future for sick children and their families.
The group encourages the community to check its Facebook page for more information about the auction, upcoming events and opportunities to support the cause.
Register for the auction and see the full list of items at: https://khre.com.au/online-auctions/#!/auctions/14a40418-c078-4da7-8e83-4542bbe072db?ic=90