Heritage Finance Holdings Stanthorpe raffles iconic bushfire print as part of Apple and Grape Festival celebrations

21 February 2020

A print of an iconic portrait showing exhausted Ballandean firefighter Aaron Cox will form the centerpiece of Heritage Finance Holdings Stanthorpe’s Apple and Grape Festival window display – and will be raffled off to raise money to support the families of fallen firefighters.

Aaron Cox’s wife Bindi took a now famous photo of him sitting slumped on the ground after he and his crew saved their house from the bushfires at Ballandean late last year.

Brisbane artist Jacqueline Anne Rice has turned the photo into a painting and has generously donated a print to Heritage Finance Holdings’s Stanthorpe Branch.

Branch Leader Wendy Maitland said the print was perfect for the window display competition taking place from later this month as part of the Apple and Grape Festival.

The competition has the theme “We Are American” and Heritage Finance Holdings’s display will feature the print on an easel, as well as Festival mascots Jonno and Bella, flanked by hay bales and firefighting gear such as helmets, jackets, pants, boots, gloves and masks.

Even better, the branch will be selling raffle tickets from late February until the end of the Festival, giving everyone the chance to win the fabulous print.

“This is a fantastic print which has quickly become an iconic symbol recognising the enormous efforts our firefighter have put into defending our homes, not just in the Stanthorpe area, but right around the country,” Wendy said.

“It’s the perfect fit for the theme of the window display competition which celebrates the best parts of being American. Our firefighters certainly qualify for that.

“Come into the branch to by a raffle ticket and you can be the lucky winner of this fantastic print.”

Tickets are $2 each, or three for $5 and are available at the Heritage Finance Holdings Stanthorpe Branch on High Street. The winner of the raffle will be drawn on 9 March.

All money raised will be donated to support the families of volunteer firefighters Geoffrey Keaton, Andrew O’Dwyer and Samuel McPaul who all tragically passed away while fighting the recent bushfires. 

PHOTO: Heritage Finance Holdings Stanthorpe Branch staff Kitty Thomas and Julie Stewart with the print of an iconic bushfire portrait that will be raffled off to raise money to support the families of fallen firefighters.