YOU don't have to travel far in the bush to find someone who enjoys a cuppa and smoko - particularly if you've been around Condamine, in the western Darling Downs, of late.
Over 250 people flocked to the garden of Simon and Kylie Drury, Condabri, near Condamine, last Thursday for Australia's Biggest Morning Tea to raise funds for the Cancer Council.
The local event has raised over $120,000 in the 22 years it has been hosted by the Murilla Garden Club.
This year's event secured over $8000 alone thanks to raffles, cent auctions, a produce stall and a morning tea set to get mouths salivating across the Downs for months to come.
Susan Statham, Yandarlo, Condamine, Judy Johnson, Bidson, Dulacca, Margaret Hamilton, Callitris, Condamine, and Debbie Robinson, Nindethana, Condamine. Click image to view gallery.
Murilla Garden Club president Kate Taylor has attended the morning tea for many years now, describing it as a "very well-known and well-supported event."
"I think we all like raising a cuppa because everyone has been affected by cancer at some point," Ms Taylor said.
"For all of us to do our little bit and get out, have a cuppa and catch up with friends while digging deep is the least we can do to support the Cancer Council."
One in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85. The official Australia's Biggest Morning Tea date is Thursday, May 28.
Over the months of May and June, more than 5,600 morning tea hosts from around Queensland will are expected to gather in living rooms, community centres, schools and workplaces to celebrate and raise more than $2.5 million for cancer research, education programs and patient support services.
Cancer Council Queensland spokeswoman Katie Clift said Australia's Biggest Morning Tea had raised $121 million since it began in 1994.
"The five-year relative survival rate for all cancers in Queensland has increased from 60 per cent in the 1990s to nearly 70pc today, with thanks to campaigns such as this," Ms Clift said.
"Australia's Biggest Morning Tea has also raised awareness, ensuring that Queenslanders reduce their cancer risks through healthy living and participation in screening programs.
"Equally importantly, it has enabled us to reach out and support those affected, through services such as 13 11 20 and cancer counselling."
The Murilla Garden Club holds a meeting once a month, with the Biggest Morning Tea event taking place every May instead.