A humble pumpkin patch in the Whitsundays is feeding far more than stomachs.
Retired canegrower Darcy Emmerson grows the pumpkins in the foothills of a coastal mountain range at Kelsey Creek, 14 kilometres south-west of Proserpine.
Twice a week he donates about a tonne of pumpkins to community groups, charities, churches, daycare centres, doctors' surgeries and businesses in Proserpine, Cannonvale and Airlie Beach.
Each delivery the 80-year-old makes comes with the expectation of nothing in return.
"It's not actually a charity run, but it's a little gift for people," Mr Emmerson said.
Delivery day
It's overcast, and there's a light drizzle of rain when he sets out, the two-way radio in his old ute alive with chatter from harvesters and haul-out drivers.
He stops at Meals on Wheels where he's warmly met by volunteers.
"I try and get them big ones, so they can cut the whole thing up. That way it goes a bit further," he said.
"The Pumpkin Man", as he is affectionately known, is greeted with a hug at the Proserpine Community Centre.
Support officer Ashley Gunn wheels out a large timber trolley, made by the local men's shed, and it's soon overflowing.
"We have people come in just for pumpkins," Ms Gunn said.
"People of all ages. A lot of them will take a pumpkin on their way out and then come back with extra produce that they've got out of their garden.
"It's sort of like a give-and-take system, and there's no judgement."
Generosity
Mr Emmerson asks for no money, saying he doesn't need it.
"I've got enough to live on," he said.
"I just feel like I've got to help, you know? Help people. That's what this should be all about, shouldn't it?"
He becomes emotional when talking about what the community has taught him.
"I didn't realise … there's so many disabled people around. I didn't realise how many," he said through tears.
"When I stuck my head into that respite centre one day, I couldn't believe it. It was chock-a-block. I'm gonna get a tear in my eye every time I go there."
Community inspiration
Mr Emmerson's generosity has also inspired others.
A local sign-writer has professionally created a sign for the pumpkin stand under his letterbox after seeing the 80-year-old's handwritten version.
An anonymous donor gave him a net for the back of his ute to stop the pumpkins falling out.
He still doesn't know who left it.
"Oh, I appreciate it. Yeah, that's for sure."
A restaurant has added "Darcy's Pumpkin Soup" to the menu and a local mother, Leah Warren, is writing a children's book inspired by his generosity.
"The generosity really touched me, and it is a value I'd like to instil in my family, and I just thought it was a message that needed to be heard," Ms Warren said.
"If it is made with love and shared with kindness, it is like planting a little pumpkin seed. That kindness then gets shared multiple times over."
The final stop
Mr Emmerson's favourite — and last — stop is the Endeavour Foundation in Cannonvale.
Support worker Julie Harrison says the pumpkins are used by people attending the learning and lifestyle hub.
"We're growing all our own herbs and tomatoes. We bring it in from the garden and incorporate it into our lunch," she said.
But just when the delivery run is finished The Pumpkin Man has one more suggestion. "You wouldn't have time to go out to the farm, would you?"
After crossing Goorganga Creek he arrives at the farm his grandparents started in 1918.
"This is Walga. Walga is the Aboriginal name for … kangaroo blood or Aboriginal meeting place," he said while driving past the old family home, through cane paddocks to the pumpkin patch.
Hundreds of pumpkins cover the soil mounds. Bugle, butternut and kent varieties are grown in "mud" left over from sugarcane processing at the local mill.
Mr Emmerson is unsure how many are still in the paddock.
"Couldn't even guess. A couple of thousand?"
As the pumpkin season comes to an end, he says there'll be more pumpkins next year to feed the community.
Along with the help of his 86-year-old mate, other friends and family, he says they'll keep picking the pumpkins.
And when he can no longer make the deliveries himself, he already knows who will take over.
"That's OK. Craig [my son] will do it."
