Cotton grower buys up local town, bringing it back from the brink

The Covid pandemic could've been the last nail in the coffin for the tiny Queensland town of Hebel, if not for the foresight and generosity of cotton grower Frank Deshon. 

The local legend purchased Hebel’s entire commercial business portfolio - the pub, general store and caravan park - to keep his community on the map.

“In the six years leading up to 2020 there was a one-in-a-hundred-year drought and that really impacted the community. Covid was the last straw and the businesses just couldn’t afford to keep going,” he says.

“I drove past the pub for 12 months and thought, ‘I just have to do it’, or our town would cripple itself.  How would we ever entice families out here?

“People migrate to the pub for a chat, it gives people a place to come together and have a laugh and give Mum the bloody night off cooking! I think that’s important, you know.”

Frank believes a reliable barometer of a healthy community is the spirit that underpins the local sports clubs and community hubs, and he’s relieved to feel that spirit returning.  

“The town has a buzz about it again.”

Frank is a third-generation cattle, sheep, dryland cereals and cotton producer in Hebel, south-western Queensland. 

These stories are part of a partnership with Cotton Australia showcasing some of the legends of the Aussie cotton industry. You can read Sarah Burrell’s story here, or listen to Lauren Roellgen’s story here.