Friends of Felton

The inspirational true story of a small farming community that dared to resist the coal miners who threatened to destroy their fertile valley.


They learned new skills and used humour to gain public support in a campaign that lasted four and a half years. Despite great anguish they had a lot of fun along the way. Above all, they never gave up.


Their triumph against all the odds will give hope and encouragement to others facing similar challenges wherever they may be.



About the Author: 

Rob McCreath grew up on a family dairy farm in south west Scotland. After gaining a BSc (Hons) in agriculture from the University of Reading, he farmed in Scotland for nine years, before selling up

and moving with Sally and their three young children to Australia, where they farmed mixed crops and beef in the Felton Valley for twenty-three years. Rob has served as a director of Lock the Gate

Alliance Ltd and Conservation Farmers Inc. The highlight of his farming career came during the terrible drought of 2006, when thanks to a lucky thunderstorm which landed just on their crop, Rob & Sally were crowned Australian Mungbean Champions. Concerned about the impact of climate change, they left Felton in 2017 for a new farm in Tasmania.