This episode is part of a mini-series produced for the Gascoyne Catchment’s Group, who have kindly allowed me to share it with you. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did making it.**

n this episode we hear the incredible story of Libby Gooch.

The year is 1972 and Libby is a young mother living on Manberry Station with her husband George and their 3 children.

In a matter of months, she loses not one, but two of the men in her life.

In an instant, her world is changed irrevocably, and Libby finds herself facing the fight of her life to keep the family property.

The road is fraught with challenges and sacrifice, as the only woman in the region, and perhaps one of a few in the country, to be at the helm of a pastoral business.

As you’re about to hear, Libby’s story is not defined by the tragedies and hard times she has faced. It’s what she chose to do in the wake of them that is her story. A story of resilience, determination, and true grit at a time when the odds have never been stacked so high.

Libby, who was 87 at the time of recording, is notoriously private and was very reluctant to share her story, so it is a real privilege to be able to share it with you.

To start our conversation, I asked Libby to take me back to where her story in the pastoral industry began.

Voices of the Gascoyne is a Gascoyne Catchments Group project, made possible through support from FRRR’s Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative, funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.”

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