Station kids aren’t regular kids. What I mean, is that they are, more often than not, fiercely independent and impressively resourceful. And that is a recipe for adventure.

Garry Riggs is no exception here. He spent his childhood on remote properties across Northern Australia, with the sort of freedom most of us would lament only occurred “back in the good old days”. He’s had his fair share of adventures, including a number of close calls with snakes, motorbikes, horses, motorcars, and even deadly fevers.

Today, Garry owns Lakefield Station in the Northern Territory, where we recorded this episode. His journey from station kid to station owner is absolutely jam-packed with ripper yarns, and this episode is just Part 1 of several we’re going to be recording with Garry.

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When Ned McCord was a little boy, all he wanted to do was be among the stockmen working cattle.

And for the most part, that was his reality, until his father experienced a serious and debilitating illness which saw the family separated, and Ned sent to a town school.

He eventually made his way to the newly established Emerald Pastoral College in hopes of getting back on the land. Little did he know that the one class he thought to be the least relevant of his studies – first aid – would become his most important skill set.

In this episode Ned, he looks back on his early years and tells an incredible story involving a lightning strike on a Northern Territory cattle station.

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Tony Williams left home at the age of 16 to work on Nilpinna Station for his childhood idol Jimmy Nunn. That was almost 50 years ago.

Today, Tony is in his 40th year as the manager of Mt Barry Station, near the town of Coober Pedy in SA. In this episode, he shares yarns from the past 5 decades and what he has learnt along the way about life, love, and loss.

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Aticia Grey is best known for her team of working dogs and their adventures on her family’s cattle station in the Pilbara region of WA.

Given her cult following on social media, appearance on the ABC’s tv show “Muster Dogs” and release of a book by the same name, you’d be forgiven for thinking she’s been working with dogs her whole life.

But, that’s not the case.

In this episode Aticia tells the story of how she became the first person in her family, and local region, to use a team of working dogs on a cattle station.

A few months ago, Aticia and I had our first children just a week apart, and we recorded this episode while nursing our bubs, so you’ll notice there’s a few ad breaks and sound effects!

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Lamboo Station is unlike any of the other cattle station’s we’ve spoken about on this podcast.

Located just south of Halls Creek in the Kimberley region, Lamboo is owned by the Ngunjiwirri Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) on behalf of the Jaru people. The property was purchased in 1994 by the (then) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) through the WA Aboriginal Lands Trust (ALT) and handed over to the local people in the same year.

At the time of the purchase of Lamboo Station, the primary focus of the WA Government was to provide land for the Jaru people on which to live, rather than as a business enterprise. Little attention was paid to the standard of infrastructure or the number and quality of the cattle that were included in the sale.

For almost 30 years the Ngunjiwirri Aboriginal Corporation has been trying to turn Lamboo into a viable pastoral enterprise, and it hasn’t been smooth sailing.

In today’s episode I am speaking with Darrylin Gordon, who, quite frankly, is one of the most admirable, inspiring people that I know. Every time I catch up with Darrylin I find myself sitting in awe at her resilient nature, and the strength and conviction with which she speaks.

Darrylin is a Jaru woman who grew up on Lamboo and is the current station manager. Darrylin came on the podcast to share some of her personal story, the story of Lamboo, and the challenges and triumphs that lay ahead.

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Welcome to a special bonus episode.

For those of you who don’t know, I am due to have my first child in July – so by the time you’re listening to this, I’ll be well and truly knee deep in nappies!

Before I go on maternity leave, I decided to make hay while the sun shines, and I teamed up with the legends at Territory Natural Resource Management to produce a podcast series.

It’s called Our Territory, Our Future, and you can find it on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. I’ll be sure to link it in the shownotes below.

Today, I’m sharing one of those episodes – and it’s actually Part 1 of 3 episodes. A couple of weeks ago I sat down with two legends by the name of Stu and Brett, and they are experts in all things feral animals, and they run an incredible wildlife and feral animal management business.

If you enjoy the episode, make sure you head over to the Our Territory, Our Future podcast to listen to parts 2 and 3, as well as all the other episodes – including Lakefield, Mataranka and Mainoru Stations!

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In our last episode, Danny Hayes shredd yarns from his childhood on cattle stations and some of the things he's learned from his 30 year career as a mustering pilot. In this episode, Danny recounts some of the hairy situations he's found himself in while flying - situations that only experience and nothing short of good luck has allowed him to be here and speak about them.

I want to take a moment and acknowledge that our community has lost too many people through helicopter mustering accidents, and safety while flying is something that both Danny and I take very seriously. So while he recounts these stories with a laugh, we want you to know that we are not trying to ignore the seriousness of each incident. At the time of recording, I'm 34 weeks pregnant and my partner is also a helicopter mustering pilot, so you can imagine the anxiety these yarns gave me.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and if you take anything away, it's that safety is everything.

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You can’t live and work in the Northern Territory and not have a story or two to tell. So, imagine how many stories Danny Hayes must have, having flown as a helicopter mustering pilot for over 30 years. I think it’s safe to say that he has seen and done a lot of things, and got the experience to back up his opinions.

So, at 8 months pregnant, I headed out to Mainoru Station, north-east of Katherine, to sit down with Danny and hear some of his yarns.

This episode is the first of two episodes with Danny. In this episode he shares yarns from his childhood and early days as a pilot. In the second episode Danny recounts his history of finding himself in some hairy situations while flying, and how experience and a bit of good luck prevailed so he could live to tell the tale.

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With two cattle stations in the Northern Territory, a cattle property in Queensland, and a helicopter business, Rebecca and Steven Cadzow were in the perfect position to continue expanding their business interests and develop a pastoral empire that so many dream of. But, instead they made the decision to downsize to just one cattle station. In this episode Rebecca discusses their decision, the concept of a “Life Audit” and the impact their choices have had on their life, family, and business.

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Tracey Hayes is best known for her role as the first female CEO of the Northern Territory Cattleman’s Association.

But, it was a role she never intended on holding -  in fact, it wasn’t in her career plan at all.

Born and bred on a cattle station in the far north of South Australia, staying on the land was all Tracey ever wanted to do.

But, sometimes life throws curveballs and when that happens you have two choices - resist change, or adapt.

And, as you’ll hear in this episode, adapting to the unexpected is something Tracey does very well. 

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