Jim and Eileen Hillier are also
members of the:
TropWATER’s Steve Lewis and Eileen Hillier.
series of diversion banks, and this keeps
soil and water on my property.” of 3P (palatable, perennial, productive)
pasture species.
The results speak for themselves. There were several large eroded gullies
on the property. Jim began remediating
these gullies by deep ripping along the
contour, installing several dams and
mechanically reshaping manageable
gullies.
As 2019 dawned, Jim and wife Eileen
were looking out over a drought-
affected landscape, wondering if they
were going to see water in the dams
anytime soon.
Later that month, the heavens opened
and dumped more than 300ml of rain
across the property.
That water stayed on Glenmore, and
Jim couldn’t stop grinning.
Glenmore is a 207ha property on
the banks of the Bowen River, near
Collinsville.
When Jim began managing in 2003,
the property had low ground cover,
poor infiltration rates and low numbers
These remediation efforts did reduce
sediment loss, but during large rain
events, sheet erosion was removing
valuable topsoil.
Through the Landholders Driving
Change project, Jim was able to install
sediment banks allowing for increased
infiltration and sediment eduction.
He designed the works himself with
minimal external input, showcasing
his experience and technical expertise
gathered from decades of experience
and a deep trust of his dumpy level.
• Bowen River cluster group.
Its focus is to trial holistic
approaches to the management
of priority weeds.
• Community Water Quality
Monitoring Group.
• Jim is a local contractor, and
has completed earthworks on a
number of local properties for
the LDC project.
Jim is a strong advocate for sharing
ideas and he opened his farm gates to
neighbours allowing them to inspect
the process, and gain an understanding
of what he was trying to achieve – trap
overland flo , stop sediment, improve
land condition and create a drought
reserve.
“The only way we’re all going to
improve our land condition is to learn
from one another, and from experts
who we trust,” Jim said.
“I have learnt a lot from many
people I have worked with over the
years, people who have worked with
machinery, and those who have lived
and worked on the land all their lives,
they all have a great deal of knowledge
and skills.”
After works – Glenmore station.
9