Country Town Rescue

The tree change scheme is launched, and the Trundle Tree-Change committee starts reviewing applicants from all over the world. They decide that Trundle’s Christmas Fair will double as an open day for the short listed applicants. On the day they are inundated with hopeful families and after a tour of the town the interviews begin. There are a range of Tree Change applicants including a Muslim family from Sydney. After a very long day the Committee retire to the pub and spend the next three days agonizing and arguing over the short list, finally the decisions are made and the families are notified. They are all delighted and one of the families, the Guerkes tell the Committee they have already packed up their house and arrive shortly afterwards. They waste no time getting down to work stripping floors and washing walls. The Elemam’s are the next to arrive. Nabih, the husband, and his mate come ahead of the family with the removal truck. Despite the fact that their farmhouse is one of the farmhouses in the best condition, Nabih looks devastated and tells his mate in Arabic that he doesn’t think he’ll be back!

As the episode opens Donna Roberts arrives with her children, In an effort to welcome and give the new families a soft landing, The Trundle Tree Change Committee has organized working bees for all the houses, so Donna is really pleased to arrive at a sparkling clean ‘South Purnim’, owned by Tree Change Committee member Dol Wright. Some 20 k’s down the road, Nabih and Christie Elemam are coming to terms with life in the bush, Nabih was expecting a country farm that would be green and lush, not brown and dry, and their water tank is full of dead frogs. For Claire and Tony Moore, nurses from Canberra the tree change is an opportunity to introduce their kids Carlo (3) and Grace (22 months) to the joys of the country. The Moore’s landlord David Watt has decided to put some money into their house, so in exchange for Tony’s labour together they build a new verandah. For the Guerke’s their verandah is creating activity for all the wrong reasons, the boards are old and rotten, and the Guerke’s kids have broken many of them. Dan’s landlord isn’t happy and has demanded that Dan replace the boards - in Dan’s words the Trundle Tree change ‘is turning into a nightmare on ‘elm street’.

Besides The Gallens, the Tree Change families are settled, so it’s time for the oldest kids to start school. For the Guerke’s and The Elemam kids that means Trundle Central public school, while Tommy and Sammy Roberts are joining Trundle’s Catholic School, St Pat’s. The Guerke’s relationship with their Farmer Dale has deteriorated further and the Committee meets to discuss a solution. When Jo and Andrew Gallen arrive, Jo tracks down Dannielle and gets the job of cook at the Trundle Pub, Dannielle is delighted. The Elemam family have been unhappy since they arrived. Landlord Ben Kerin is doing his bit to help them settle by trying to get Nabih engaged in country life. He takes him mustering sheep, while Christie gets a visit from committee members Cherie Quade and Dol Wright who are desperate for the Elamams to stay. At the Trundle Health Centre, Tony and Claire have started work but five weeks on are devastated to discover that due to a bureaucratic stuff up they haven’t been paid, and they default on their mortgage. Tony Moore drafts a letter to the shadow health minister about the situation and breaks down as he reads it out to wife, Claire.

After many years of drought, 2011 is a bumper year for Trundle. But with the rains comes another problem … a mouse plague. For the Guerke’s, it’s the first decent rain since their landlord gave them a new water tank. But they’re still not happy and have been offered another farmhouse from a local family aware of their woes. It seems everyone in town knows they’re moving except their original landlords. The Tree Changing families are really embracing country life, so much so that Nabih Elemam and single mother, Donna Roberts are having a crack at a rural skills course. For Donna Roberts, her rural skills course pays off. She’s got a job as a farmhand. But Nabih’s hopes to start a halal meat market are now looking less likely with meat prices at a record high. As National Dawah week approaches – a time when Muslims reach out to the community – Nabih and his wife, Christie invite the whole town to hear more about Islam. Jo and Andrew Gallen now have a very good reason to turn their farmhouse in to a home with news of their impending birth. But it’s also an anxious time for the couple who lost a child two and a half years ago. At the pub, cook Jo faces competition when Kylie Guerke scores two nights a week cooking Thai. But will this be one cook too many? Nurses, Claire and Tony Moore have finally been paid after a bureaucratic stuff-up left them struggling to pay the mortgage on the home they still own in Canberra. Now they face another challenge when 3 year old, Carlo’s asthma worsens as the seasons change. They face an uncertain future and have a big decision to make. Should they stay or should they go?

It's the biggest day of the year on the social calendar, the Annual Show and the Trundle Tree Changers are getting in on the competition. Even farmer, Ben Kerin gets in to the swing with his famous boiled rice pudding. There’s also news for the Guerkes. They’ve been offered another farmhouse for one dollar a week but they’ve left a load of gear and a bit of a mess in their original farmhouse and their first landlord isn’t happy. When Dan finds out this landlord has been inside their house, neither is he. Incensed, Dan calls a committee meeting. But will he be happy with what they have to say? The Moores are still reeling from young Carlos recent life threatening asthma attack. With an impending harvest season, they decide to make the long journey to Sydney to visit a specialist. They’re desperate to give country life one last chance. After months of searching for work, the Elemams receive some exciting news. Christie has been offered a job as a solicitor in a nearby town. But as a nervous P-plater, Christie’s concerned about the 80 km’s she’s going to have to travel to and from their home in Trundle. Business is now booming in the Trundle pub kitchen. Thai chef, Kylie Guerke shares the kitchen two nights a week with Jo Gallen. But when other kitchens try to poach Jo, publican, Dannielle Ward decides to offer her the kitchen on her own. As if things aren’t tough enough for the Guerkes, Jo decides that Thai is off the menu, leaving Kylie without a job and the Guerkes back at square one and not happy about it. Despite being unmarried, Jo and Andrew have been known as the “Gallens” around town ever since they arrived. With the impending birth of a new child, they’ve decided to make it official. Now more than six months after making the Trundle Tree Change from Western Sydney, the Elemam family has some surprising news for Trundle. As the months roll on, handyman, Dan Guerke has thrown himself into turning house number two in

At the beginning of 2010 five families left their old lives behind to start a new life in the bush. Twelve months later, four out of the five families have lasted the distance. Now there’s even a wedding and a baby on the way! For the Guerke family, the tree change hasn’t been easy. They spent months renovating their second home only to be told by the landlord, his daughter would need the farmhouse. With no work and little money, they’ve had to send one of their children to live with Kylie’s Mum over 800kms away. The Moores are making the most out of country living. Despite their commitment to nursing, Tony has had to resort to his previous career as a geologist and has landed a job at a nearby mine. Widowed mother, Donna Roberts set out with her two kids for a new life. As Christmas Day approaches, so too does the second anniversary of husband, Steve’s death. On Jo and Andrew’s wedding day, news spreads that the road into Trundle has been cut by floodwaters. As the clock ticks down, it looks like the couple will make it to the church in time. Locals arrive in droves, keen to grab a good seat. The Trundle Tree Change was always going to be a social experiment. Twelve months on it’s now time for the Committee to reflect. Has the scheme been a success and just how many families now consider Trundle home?