Korumburra community’s generosity on show
Support for unwell kids
JUST a week after digging deep into their pockets at Korumburra’s Austral Hotel to support The Royal Children’s Hospital, community members further underscored their generosity at the Korumburra Middle Hotel’s Good Friday fundraiser.
The auction raised $13,800, with further funds generated through Tommy Brown’s famous raffle and the introduction of a digital Easter egg race, the Middle Hotel also chipping in $1 for each chef’s special sold over the last couple of weeks and a percentage of drink sales on the day.
All up, about $17,000 was raised for the cause.
Auctioneer Jimmy Kyle bolstered the competitive spirit of bidders, asking someone having a crack at purchasing a Carlton Draught Esky Pack, “Are you going to let Big Rooster beat you?”
As it turned out, Rooster won the battle, but the item made a tidy $300 for the cause.
Jimmy expressed his appreciation to another buyer for bidding against herself on a Bombers jumper signed by Essendon players, that item also making $300.
Among the available lots were a couple of vouchers for Top Pub (Austral), showing the united approach to supporting RCH and the children who rely on it.
Plenty of buyers copped Jimmy’s good-natured barbs, one hearing multiple times just how bad his shirt was.
When an item in the meat tray, fortunately wrapped in plastic, hit the pub floor, Jimmy quipped, “We’re just tenderising it for you.”
Trying to start the bidding at $200 on an unseen crayfish of indeterminate size that was out of sight in the freezer, the auctioneer remarked “That might be cheap, might be dear; it could be only a yabby,” the frozen crustacean eventually fetching $160.
Six tickets for the Medalion Club, to be used at the MCG or Docklands, raised $900, while a two per cent share in the ownership of racehorse Great Prosperity went for $800, prompting Jimmy to suggest it must be faster than Stelletta, the same share in that horse making $600.
Known for conjuring magic with the Sherrin, Hawthorn’s Nick Watson lived up to his nickname of ‘Wizard’’, his signed jumper going for $550.
The auction finished with Jimmy’s young son and budding auctioneer Dusty the highest bidder on six bales of silage, those reaching $370.
It was another great afternoon for a special cause.
