Drenching rain falls on parched Australian farms

Drenching rains fell across most of Australia's parched southeast yesterday, with the best falls in a decade in some areas, delighting farmers who have endured seven years of drought.

But the government said more rains were needed to break the drought.

Widespread falls were recorded across New South Wales state, where drought has hit about 80 per cent of farmland, and the southern state of Victoria, with more autumn rains forecast over coming days.

In the town of Bourke, about 800 kilometres northwest of Sydney, more than 70 millimetres fell in the 24 hours to mid-yesterday, turning dusty fields to mud and lifting the spirits of struggling farmers.

"It's certainly put a smile on a lot of faces and created some optimism for the future. Things have been so dry out here for the past seven years," Wayne O'Mally said from his farm, northeast of Bourke.

Up to 66 millimetre rains fell in parts of Victoria.

Prime Minister John Howard welcomed the latest downpours, but said much more was needed to break the drought for most farmers.

"Some of them haven't had decent rain for seven years, and we can't overestimate the morale boost that this will represent," Mr Howard told reporters in the northern tropical city of Townsville.

"But we have got to keep hoping and praying for more rain because they will need more than the falls of the past 24 or 36 hours to break the drought."