IT’SLATEAFTERNOONandSamCoultonandhisgrandson
Harryareina goldenwheatfieldatAlcheringa,near
Goondiwindi.Theystophereandtheretobreaka seedhead,
rubbingitbetweentheirhandstoreleasethegrain,testingit
toseeifitisreadyforharvesting.There’saneasyfriendship
betweenSam,66,andhis19-year-oldeldestgrandson—they
maintaineda closebondevenwhileHarrylivedinLondon
fornineyears.NowbackinAustraliastudyingeconomicsat
theUniversityofQueensland,Harrycontinuestoreturnto
Goondiwindi,fourhourssouth-westofBrisbane,tohelphis
grandparentsSamandBevwiththeirbusinessaswellasthe
extendedCoultonfamily’sfarmingoperations.He’lloftenbe
foundonthetractor,preparinga cottoncropordrivingthe
chaserbin,harvestingwheat,barleyandchickpeas.
“Thechangeyouseewithinthreemonthsishuge—one
monthyouhavea paddockwithnothinginitandthenthere’s
a crop,whichisamazingtosee.It’snaturalandrewarding,
butit’salsoa lotofhardworkandpatience,”Harrysays.
Sam,or“Sampa”asHarrycallshim,isa campaignerfor
theGoondiwindiregion.Educatingpeopleaboutwheretheir
foodcomesfromisclosetohisheartandsomethinghewants
toimparttohisgrandchildren.TheCoultonfamilyare
pioneeringfarmersandcottongrowersoftheMacIntyre
Valley, and Sam diversified the farming business in 1992 byestablishingclothinglabelGoondiwindiCotton,whichisnow
stockedin 200 stores.Sam,Bevandtheirfourchildren:
Harry’smotherTriciaandhersistersSamantha,Shonaand
Alissaremainconnectedtothebusiness.
Theeldestoffive,Sam’sbrothersDavidandBenarealso
stillveryactiveintheGoondiwindidistrict.“Working
togetherissomethingourfamilyhaswantedtodo.Weall
getonverywellandhaveadviceforeachotherandthemfor
me,anditf lows,”Samsays.
AccordingtobothSamandHarry,Goondiwindiisa special
placethankstoitspeopleandculture.“Wehavea ‘cando’
attitude;wehavetobepositive,becausewe’refacingreality
anddealingwithMotherNatureeveryday.Alotoftime,
effortandthoughtgoesintothedecisionswemakebecauseit
canaffectourlong-termviabilityandcommunity,”Samsays.
Sambeganofferingtoursofthetownandnearbyfarms
13 yearsagoasa waytocreatejobsandeducatepeopleabout
agriculture.“Peoplewanttoseethescaleoffarms,gettheir
handsdirtyandlearnthefactsofirrigationandfarming,”
hesays.“Iwouldliketogetkidsontothefarmsotheycan
learnwheretheirfoodcomesfrom,howmuchittakestoget
thereandhowweworkwithnature.”
Visitgoondiwindicotton.com.autoseethe clothing range
and to book a farm tour at Alcheringa.OUR LIFE IN THE COUNTRYGOONDIW INDI QLD
94 COU NTRY ST Y LESEPTEMBER 2019