He weighs in at a hefty 729 kilograms and stands at a lofty 1.6 metres tall, but Maynard Cattle Company bull Rocky, will be helping Queensland’s tiniest patients to survive and thrive.
Rocky raked in $9,000 at last month's Bulls for Bubs auction at Gracemere Selling Yards, a new fixture of the annual bull sales that attract buyers from across the state.
All money raised through the sale will be donated to Nine Telethon supporting Mater’s Little Miracles, a day-long statewide televised fundraiser to support research and care for premature and critically ill babies at Mater Mothers’ Hospital in Brisbane.
Cattleman Geoff Maynard and his wife Alison – who worked as a midwife at Mater Mother’s Private Brisbane in the 1990s - launched the Bulls for Bubs fundraiser this year.
“We breed around 250 bulls annually and have our own sale each year and we thought, why not give it a go,” Mr Maynard said.
“Alison and I had our five children at Mater Mothers’ Private Rockhampton, and the midwives were just fantastic. This is a way of giving back.
“If it helps a family get a bit of extra support at a difficult time, then it’s worthwhile.”
Mater Foundation Chief Executive Andrew Thomas said the initiative showed the generosity and community spirit that underpins regional Queensland and the state’s cattle industry.
“Every dollar raised will help Mater’s clinicians and researchers continue to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable patients—affectionately called Mater Little Miracles,” he said.
For a quarter of a century the Maynard Cattle Company has been holding one of the biggest annual bull auctions in Central Queensland. This year, 65 bulls went under the hammer with Rocky taking out the top bid.
Mr Thomas said funds from the auction would be used to provide round-the-clock care for more than 1,800 very ill and premature babies in Mater Mothers' Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU).
The birth of a newborn is one of the happiest and most beautiful moments in life for mothers and their families, but sadly not all pregnancies are without complications.
These families turn to Mater—Australia’s largest maternity care provider –a leader in neonatal critical care with integrated services that extend from pre-pregnancy to the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life.
With the help of donations from the community, Mater clinicians and researchers continue to improve outcomes for our tiniest and most vulnerable patients.
