Olden Eagles on the tools for Eugowra Footy and live music fundraiser in Forbes this Saturday, March 18

Eugowra’s Olden Eagles 'Old Boys and Girls’ footy club are on a mission to get their community back into their own homes as quickly as possible.

Four months have passed since that terrifying night in November when a wall of floodwater swept down Mandagery Creek and devastated the small township. Eugowra is recovering slowly but surely, but there is still so much work to do. Many of the flood-damaged homes remain unlivable, which is where the Olden Eagles are lending a hand.

Fundraising to buy a paint sprayer and paint, a small team of ‘Old Boys’ have taken on the task of repainting homes for those who need it, volunteering their time on weekends to get the job done and get people back living in their own homes.

“It's a good thing to do,” Olden Eagle Andrew Barnes said. In the wake of the flooding, Andrew has taken an active role in fundraising and advocating for the Eugowra community, using his experience in the media industry to tell the community’s stories and now getting on the tools himself to paint homes on weekends.

“We couldn’t figure out what was fair,” he continued. “We kept being given all this money and thought, we can't just give a bit here and a bit there, so we said, ‘how about we start painting?’”

Andrew and his fellow Olden Eagles have already repainted seven homes and the local pub  and plan to keep going as long as they have the funds to do so.

“A lot of people have got insurance or a lot of people want it done professionally, which is fine… It's the people who don't have family, or don't have friends who are tradies or whatever, they're the ones that are really going to do it tough, so if we can help those people, it's pretty good,” Andrew said.

“A couple on the weekend, they just could not stop crying at the end of it they were just saying that they were so happy and ‘we didn't know what we're going to do, we can't afford it.’ 

“So this just gets them into their house, it is one step closer for them. So yeah, it's pretty powerful and it's a good thing to do… But it's expensive! Paint's expensive! And we don't know how many houses there will be, but there could be 50 or 60.”

This Saturday, the Eugowra Olden Eagles are hosting a fundraising festival of football, food and music at Forbes Spooner Oval, with the proceeds going towards their ongoing painting project.

Building on their annual “Masters of the Mandagery” old boys football tournament, the Olden Eagles saw an opportunity to go a little bigger with the event in a bid to raise more money for their community.

Normally held at Ian Walsh Oval in Eugowra, Saturday’s event has been moved to Forbes, where 15 teams hailing from Coogee to Canberra, Cargo and Condobolin will take to the field for some “slow-paced” rugby league action.

“It's just pretty much ‘grab and giggle’ muck around sort of thing,” Andrew said. “Everyone has a laugh on their face and no one takes it too seriously, then you have a bit of a beer after.”

There will be live music at the grounds all day, with the final act being the Livin’ on a Prayer Bon Jovi Tribute Show.

“It's a bit of a mini ‘Live Aid’ is what I've been saying to everyone,” Andrew said. “If you’re not into the footy, you can go for the music. If you’re not into the music, you can go for the footy!”

Gates open at 10am on Saturday, March 18 and the main convert gets underway following the football at 5pm. 

“It’s not a late night and there’s heaps of stuff for the kids, a jumping castle and stuff like that, it's a real family affair and some footy in the middle!”

For tickets, information about the event and how you can help the Olden Eagle’s fundraising efforts, visit www.eugowramasters.com