Mr Hitchen, Bianca Rituper and their daughter Ceijay Hitchen, nearly two, are one of 18 families who have moved to Cumnock under an innovative scheme to boost the village’s population and ensure the future of the local school.

They were officially welcomed to the village at the Cumnock Show on Saturday, with families receiving some native seedlings and a chicken to help them establish their new country lifestyle.

Mr Hitchen said he and his family had not looked back since making the move from Rockhampton.

“We saw it on A Current Affair and it sounded like a good move. This is a town that has done something really positive to get people to move here,” he said.

Ms Rituper said Cumnock was a safe and friendly place to raise their daughter.

“Ceijay is probably the main reason we wanted to come. It’s a good place for her to grow up,” she said.

The scheme devised by the Cumnock Progress Association to rent out local farmhouses for $1 per week has resulted in 30 adults and 48 children moving to Cumnock, boosting the population by 20 per cent.

The new residents have come from as far away as Broken Hill, Melbourne, Brisbane and Horsham.

Cabonne Council general manager Graeme Fleming said the village had demonstrated foresight and drive in doing something about its stagnant population.

“Communities like Cumnock are only as strong as the people that are in them. It’s probably one of the proudest days I can think of in my career in local government to see what Cumnock has done,” he said.

Cabonne deputy mayor Noel Bleakley, State Member for Orange Russell Turner, Federal Member for Calare John Cobb and members of the Cumnock Progress Association spoke at the official welcome.