AFTER being selected as Victoria’s Local Hero of 2026, Aussie Hay Runners’ founder Linda Widdup attended this year’s Australian of the Year awards, honouring her and a handful of other Australians for outstanding work giving back to their communities.
Since the beginning of the January bushfires that have extended across much of Northern and Northeastern Victoria, Aussie Hay Runners have been delivering truckloads of hay to farmers in need via their three depots at Longwood, Yarck and Goomalibee.
Linda’s efforts began in 2019 with just a few trucks and have continued to expand every year across multiple states. Along with the honours she received, Linda and her sister Tanya attended a dinner with the Governor of Victoria at Melbourne’s Government House. “It’s just an honour to be there”, she commented.
The Aussie Hay Runners have recently seen a major expansion in operations with the introduction of the ‘Cute Ute Crew’, by Jenny Clear-Boucher on January 13. Many fire affected farmers suffered the loss of vehicles, leaving them unable to reach hay depots, and due to road closures, the Aussie Hay Runners’ trucks face travel restriction in some areas. Quick thinking led Jenny to call on the help of a number of locals to load up their trailers with the rounds of hay. This has since developed into a network of hundreds of ute-driving volunteers.
On Saturday, January 31, the Aussie Hay Runners will conduct another major run, with an estimated 200 utes, with many volunteers coming from the Gippsland area. This follows their efforts from the Saturday, January 17 run during which they delivered 296 rounds and 245 squares of hay.
Though most utes can only hold one round of hay, the new fleet of utes are helping more farmers one-on-one who might’ve otherwise missed out on this crucial support. Reflecting on how these stressful conditions are affecting the communities, Jenny said, “What I’ve noticed is that people don’t want to ask for help…They don’t want to be begging.”
On the future of ute runs at Aussie Hay Runners, Ms Clear-Boucher feels she doesn’t have the choice to stop. “It’s not going away.” The organisation has been flooded with offers of support, with locals from across affected regions offering up their vehicles for use. She highlighted the chaotic energy on the ground and the struggles ahead for these communities, including with selling or recovering livestock, and rebuilding their properties and homes, as well as upcoming heatwaves that pose a hurdle to recovery efforts to both animals and humans – “People are exhausted.”
Linda Widdup urged “please don’t forget about our country folk”, driving home the importance of keeping support up for these struggling Victorians.
