Two members of the Wimmera 4WD Club are planning a trek across remote Western Australia to raise awareness of Brain Cancer.

Westprint’s Jo Ussing from Nhill and Judy Tucker from Horsham are planning to walk the Holland Track in September this year. This 600+ kilometre track was carved through rugged the Western Australian bush as a thoroughfare for hopeful goldminers heading from the Port of Albany to the Coolgardie Gold Fields. Although the first part of the track is now sealed the remainder of the track is now seldom used. Prospectors would take the train from Albany to Broomehill and begin their overland trek from this point, the lucky few pushing a wheelbarrow of belongings, others carrying a swag and a few tools. Jo and Judy will begin their walk from the wheatbelt town of Broomehill and expect to take about one month to complete the journey.

Jo and Judy are using the walk to raise awareness and funds for Brain Cancer Research. Jo says the statistics on Brain Cancer are truly alarming. ‘Brain cancer kills more children in Australia than any other disease and more people under 40 than any other cancer. Each year about 1600 people are diagnosed with brain cancer in and about 1200 will die from the disease. It strikes without warning, spreads rapidly and has the lowest survival rate of any cancer. This cause is close to our hearts and we have been planning this walk for more than 12 months. We have set up a fundraising page through the Brain Cancer Foundation and that means that all money raised will go towards the Foundation’s mission to increase five-year survival rates from the current 20% to 50% by 2023.’

Donations can be made at:

https://www.curebraincancer.org.au/my-fundraising/10393/hiking-the-holland-track