The village of Tallimba, near West Wyalong, is the latest town to adopt the rent-a-farmhouse scheme pioneered by Cumnock, where farm houses are rented to people from outside the district for $1 a week.
Following Cumnock’s success, Tallimba locals, including Meg Hardie, have launched a campaign of their own promoting their village across the country and cheap rent in now vacant farmhouses.
Mrs Hardie, “Currawong”, and four others have teamed up to launch the campaign in an effort to ensure the future of their school and community, offering budget rents and a country lifestyle.
So far four houses are on offer across the district, but Mrs Hardie said it was likely more could be added. The hope was that young families with children would make the move to the Riverina village.
Mrs Hardie said her involvement was partly family motivated – she wants her son, David, 5, to be able to attend the local school when he starts next year.
“I’d like him to go all through school in Tallimba,” she said.
Currently the school is only just at the student-numbers threshold to keep two teachers, and four new students annually would ensure they were retained.
Read the full story in this week's The Land.
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