OVERSEAS families, children's art work and even a 10 page letter are among the 148 applications lodged so far from would be tenants vying to live in four run down farmhouses in Cumnock, north of Orange.
The applications have been sent to the Cumnock and District Progress Association which went online and on television recently in its quest to boost the town's population and save the school bus.
The village is offering $1 weekly rent for two years or longer to tenants who volunteer to renovate the farmhouses.
Association member Christine Weston said applicants range from retired couples to families with babies.
"I've had tears in my eyes reading three of the applications. One had written in capital letters ‘please, please - this is the answer to my prayers’.
"There's even three families with seven children each who have applied. They are cooped up in little houses in Melbourne and Sydney," she said.
Among the applications are some from southern Queensland.
Mrs Weston said:"People want to leave the rat race, but I'm wondering why people want to leave the beach."
The applicant who sent the 10 page letter, she said, "sadly forgot to send a photo of the family", which is part of the criteria, so they've already been culled.
After the November 3 deadline for applications, the association aims to best match them with the needs of the farmhouse owners.
One owner is keen for someone with a green thumb, another needs carpentry skills, while another doesn't care about the skills, but wants more children living in the district.
The association will interview by phone or in person the preferred tenants and invite them to check out the state of the farmhouse via a virtual online tour.
If they feel up to accepting the challenge, the first tenants could move in by January, she said.
Other owners of derelict farm houses in the district and further afield in other struggling towns are watching the exercise with interest and some caution, she said.
"There are some people critical about the calibre of tenant and under the impression that it's about a dollar bargain.
"The tenants must provide free labour, but the town will get donations to do the renovations.
"We hope this will save our school and businesses. it's been the second year a lot of farmers have had total crop failure," she said.
COUNTRY LIVING
298 people live in Cumnock, which swells to 550 when you include the surrounding district.
The association has only been working on the idea for about three months.
It has received inquiries from every Australian state as well as Uruguay and South Africa and a hispanic family from central America.
Children's art about country living has accompanied some applications.
Half the applicants want to return to country living.
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