Spokespeople representing every link in the industrial hemp supply chain gathered in Deniliquin recently, for the first Australian screening of the documentary The Hemp Road Trip.
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Hosted at the Deniliquin Town Hall, it drew a crowd of more than 60 people for the viewing and a discussion about hemp’s growing role in sustainable industry.
The film’s creator Darryl J. Nicke II - a former American filmmaker and hemp advocate who is now based in Deniliquin - said the goal of the film is to educate the market on hemp.
“This was one of the first times in Australia that we had the entire supply chain in one room - growers, processors, builders and the carbon‑data experts,” he said.
Mr Nicke explained that the benefits of hemp could seriously improve the soil for local farmers.
“Cotton farmers in Hillston rotated in hemp, and it took their cotton production from 7-10 bales per hectare to 17 bales a hectare,” he said.
However, the crop still faces structural hurdles.
“You need viable and certified seed and then, after it is grown, there needs to be processing and manufacturing, which this documentary hopes to improve,” Mr Nicke said.
The event featured a Q&A panel with Winton Evers from Eco Profit Sydney, David Crew from Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre, Simon Crittenden from Hills Carpentry and Building in South Australia, Colin Steddy from iHemp NSW in Wagga and Leigh Fletcher from Murray Industrial Hemp in Barham.
Among the viewers in Deniliquin were farmers from northern NSW and southern Queensland.
A highlight was the chance to see a hemp block made by Simon Crittenden, which was part of the batch used in actor Zac Efron’s eco‑house in Byron Bay.
The display was intended to demonstrate hemp’s potential as a carbon‑negative, bushfire‑resistant and potentially compostable building material.
Mr Nicke said there are now around 100 hemp houses across Australia, with the nearest to Deniliquin located in Tocumwal.
Benefits of prefabricated hemp blocks and sheets is that they are termite‑proof and highly insulative.
Local interest is growing, with Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre reported to be seeking grants to establish a hemp processing centre for stalk, fibre and woody‑core processing.
Across the Riverina, nine new hemp processing facilities are opening, signalling a shift toward regional manufacturing.
The Q&A panel included existing and future industry proponents.
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