Kiwi farmers are being asked to show their Anzac spirit with a plan to offer relief to counterparts across the Tasman affected by bushfires.

Mates Nathan Addis and Mark Warren on Thursday night launched the Facebook page: NZ Farmers Offer Free Accommodation To Aussie Farmers From Bush Fire Zones. The name sums up their aim.

The plan was to sound out support for the idea among Kiwi farmers first before promoting it in Australia, Addis said. And support was coming in quickly.

It's gone from an infant to a toddler overnight. Much of the support in the first 12 hours was from South Island farmers, particularly those in Canterbury, who were keen to reciprocate for the support Australians provided the region after the earthquakes.

"We haven't pushed it in Australia yet because we wanted to see what the reaction was like, and make sure we had people at this end," Addis said.

It was also intended to approach businesses, including airlines, next week to add to the proposal. "Quite a bit still to work out the logistics but interest has certainly been forthcoming," he said.

"It's early days but the groundswell of interest has blown me away for what's just been 12 hours."

Some Australian farming families now had only the clothes they were wearing when they left their now-destroyed homes, Addis said.

"The recovery mission over there is going to be huge. We thought all these farmers here with homestays and bed and breakfasts, we thought it would be great to put up an Australian farming family for a week or so, so they could have some time out."

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Addis said that while he lived in Auckland, he had a farming background, and Warren farmed on the coast of Central Hawke's Bay. "We're well and truly rural people."

It had been suggested the idea could be extended to volunteer firefighters once the bushfires had eased, which wasn't a bad idea, Addis said.

By early afternoon Friday, the Facebook page promoting the idea had nearly 350 likes. In a posting, Addis made the point offers of accommodation didn't have to come just from farmers.

"Mark Warren and I have set up a page to allow Kiwi farmers, and indeed all New Zealanders, to offer up their shearer's quarters, guest house, Airbnb, or just the spare room(s) to Aussie farming families who have been affected by the devastating bush fires in Australia," he said in the post.