Barraba gets $100,000 makeover thanks to Rural Aid volunteer army

From cleaning up the town's tennis court to sprucing up the main street, the brigade of about 63 volunteers will leave the town a different place when they head out on Saturday.

Works coordinator, Grant Miskimmin, said Barraba is the first town in NSW to become a recipient of the Rural Aid's 'Our Towns' beautification campaign.

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"The rain has interrupted a bit," he joked.

"These guys, the average age is about 68. But they come with an amazing amount of skills, a lot of them are ex-tradies. Life skills, renovating or people management. It's amazing how much they can get done.

"I've been doing it for a number of years and I always marvel at exactly how much we can get done in five days. They are a committed bunch."

It was the town's community itself which identified for Rural Aid which town assets needed a touch up by their volunteers.

Rural Aid Manager, Craig Marsh, said the one-week makeover is the beginning of a five-year campaign to turn the town into a tourist mecca, with community facilities to match.

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A community development plan developed by locals will guide the $100,000 beautification scheme, he said.

"That's a community project which helps the town keep the kids here longer so they won't move away," he said.

Tamworth Regional Council Deputy Mayor Phil Betts said the update would build on the town's famous silo art to beautify the town.

But it will do more than just be easy on the eyes, he said.

"This opportunity now is to enhance the aspects of Barraba and to bring the Barraba community together," he said.

"It really gives us an opportunity for inclusion."

Terry Foreman, who turns 80 in October, is the oldest Rural Aid volunteer in NSW.

The Sunshine Coast resident spent Monday staining or painting cattle yards around the town.

He vowed to keep at it "till I can't".

"When you're retired you've got to give back to the community that has looked after you, and the farmers are the most underprivileged and underappreciated," he said.

"If we don't support country towns, all the grey nomads out there when they come through and there's no coffee shop, or no butcher shop, or no bakery, and we complain - but we're not giving anything back. So this is a way of giving back."

Rural Aid also ran a successful Community Expo on Sunday, 21 March, in response to farmers' feedback that support agencies are hard to find.

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