A West Australian farmer who lost his fiancée to suicide in June is raising money for suicide prevention and awareness by donating the proceeds from one of his "good looking" rams to the Black Dog Institute.
Irish-born Kate Doyle, 34, moved to Arthur River in Western Australia's southern wheatbelt in 2012 where she met sheep farmer David Kain, who later became her fiancée.
Mr Kain said he never suspected his fiancée was thinking about taking her life.
"At the time I was blissfully unaware, I wasn't familiar enough with it, so I've been to the 'hard school' on this one," he said.
Mr Kain said he didn't notice that Ms Doyle was struggling.
"Quite often they'll leave a lot of snippets of info,'' he said.
''She was gradually tidying up her affairs and I was totally unaware of all that. If I was in earshot of that, maybe I could have prevented it."
"She used to be horrified by suicide or anything associated with it. I never suspected anything like this would happen."
Mr Kain is encouraging his community and other farmers to be open with each other and to talk about their mental health.
The proceeds from one of his rams, which sold for $1800 to fellow farmer Sam Burgess, was donated to the Black Dog Institute.
Mr Burgess said he came to the sale intending to buy the ram because he had lost many friends to suicide.
"It's a small community, everyone just groups together,'' he said.
Mr Burgess said it was common for people in rural areas to put grievances aside to try to offer as much support as they could.
He said he didn't think there was enough awareness of people's battles with depression.
Mr Kain said he was inspired to donate the proceeds from the sale of the ram to the institute because he and his fiancée used to take part in 2 Wheels to Wagin — a motorcycle ride fundraiser for suicide prevention.
The Black Dog Institute is a not-for-profit group dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness.
Mr Kain said people shouldn't hide their feelings or be afraid to talk.
"To anyone contemplating suicide in any way, shape, or form, think beyond yourself if you can,'' he said.
''Depression is a dark and horrible place but the devastation you leave behind and the pain — it's just not worth it.
"Family and friends gather around, support can be offered in so many ways.
"Be open."
