After years of reporting on the impact of drought, our team of journalists had a conversation about how we could create a special publication that truly acknowledged the magnitude of this natural disaster.
We felt we needed to provide a historical account of the worst drought on record while also highlighting the incredible work being done on farms and in communities to preserve the welfare of stock, keep producing crops and look after each other.
And so 100 Stories of Hope was born. This important project is a collaboration between the journalists at Queensland Country Life, The Land, Stock & Land and Farmonline.
Here we take a snapshot look at all Stores of Hope from Queensland. Each photo and summary provides a link to the full story so you can continue reading these incredible yarns.
The Browns trade shears for beers
It's a fair change of pace from the unrelenting hustle of a shearing shed to a quiet morning behind the bar of an outback pub.
But come next winter, the new owners of the Gladstone Hotel at Wyandra might have a need to call upon the skills they honed from decades working in shearing sheds to get them through the busy tourist season, writes Penelope Arthur who dropped in to Wyandra to meet the new publicans
You can read their story here.
The magic of Mulga
There's no secret to surviving a drought, according to western Queensland grazier Kevin Bredhauer.
"You just have to sell down. You've got to have good water, good Mulga and a good bank manager."
Fortunately for Mr Bredhauer, he's got at least two of these in spades on his 40,500 hectare property, Rosevale Station, just west of Wyandra, Queensland.
Read his full story here.
Hanging in there
Imagine recording 87 millimetres from a whole rainfall event when properties almost over the boundary fence were receiving that amount every hour.
Then imagine the creek coming up so fast you lose a pile of cattle from floodwaters erupting across your dry paddocks.
That's what happened to Hughenden's Alan and Stacy McConachy, and about a dozen other landholders south of the town during February's disastrous monsoon event in northern Queensland, writes Sally Cripps.
Read the McConachy's full story here.
The art of support
Creative by nature, two artists have found a unique way to bring together a community and raise funds for drought-stricken regions.
What began in 2018 with Kate Pittas, Queensland, and Andrea Hamann, New South Wales, donating the sale price of a painting to Rural Aid's Buy A Bale campaign, has snowballed into a collective effort that's gone viral in the online art world.
Art For Bales raised a mammoth $77,000 in its inaugural year and Ms Hamann said their tally for 2019 was closing in on $80,000.
Digging up the 'Salad Bowl'
When widespread rain does finally arrive, Cunnamulla wool growers Bill and Hannah McKillop will have an extra reason to celebrate.
The young couple have been busy with a project they believe will significantly boost the productivity of their 18,200ha property, Avondale, 100km south of Cunnamulla, and they're keen for a decent fall of rain to gauge its success.