Life on the Land

Wendy McCarthy AO's list of achievements, influences and involvements is too long to mention them all. She was a founding member of Women’s Electoral Lobby and continues to be an advocate for women.

She has held many significant leadership roles in key national and international bodies including Deputy Chair of the ABC, Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Chair of Headspace, Chair of Australia’s leading Circus, Circus Oz and much much more.

But her life as a child was difficult – and she learned to be tough and bold – against the domestic situations that threatened to arise as a result of her fathers alcoholism.

Wendy offers some sage advice on leadership and how to change the rules – do persist with your listening - and to end there is a word on respect.

Many of us spend our days hooning from one task to the next whilst frantically keeping all the balls in the air, career, family, animals, properties and ageing parents. We tend to take our health for granted until one day, for some, there comes a diagnosis which leaves us little room for complacency.

May is the month for The May 50K raising vital funds for vital research for Multiple Sclerosis. There are more than 25,000 Australians living with MS and today's guest, Lynda MacCallum is one of them.

Lynda is up at dawn most days alongside her husband Jim, training their homebred quarter horses for the next bug Cutting event while running 400 head of beef cattle on their property near Walcha in the cool New England hills in northern New South Wales.

Horses are medicine to Lynda and have been an integral part of her therapy since her MS diagnosis in 2018. But long before the appointments, the scans and the Neurologists, horses were interwoven in the fabric of Lynda's life.

This week's podcast is sponsored by Sorority Clothing. A relatively new brand, which was founded in 2021 by Cara who; after living in London for many years wanted to bring a little piece of this to Western Qld. ⁠

Sorority Clothing has quality cotton pieces that are not only wearable and timeless but would suit any age, shape and style. Liberty of London is the main signature collection and the beautiful blouses, headbands and accessories have sold out many times over. New styles are now available.

She describes herself as a 'sometimes farmer'. You’ll rarely find her milking the cows but without her, her family may not be able to make a living from dairy cows nor live on-farm – for there would be no one to ensure her children get a good education in a bigger city, drive long distances to sporting events, move a mob of cows at a minutes notice, make business phone calls or generally tie up all the loose ends to form some semblance of an ordered life.

I think many of you might also be sometimes farmers.

Meg Bignell, who grew up on a farm growing Hops for the Cascade Brewery in Tasmania is also a published author, she’s a trained trauma nurse, she presented the weather in the Tassie nightly news, wrote medical scripts for Channel 7’s All Saints – and there is more – including her soon to be released dissertation on the modern-day feminist, her novel The Angry Women's Choir.

Thank you to Boarding Schools Expo for sponsoring this episode. "Boarding Schools Expo Australia has been a trusted resource for families searching for the right boarding school for their children and now they're reaching right across Australia."⁠

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Newly launched Boarding Expo 365, is a virtual Expo reaching families across Australia- whether you're up in the Kimberley, flying choppers east of Normanton or making brie on King Island - Boarding Expo 365 will showcase schools right from your kitchen table! Head to their website www.boardingexpo.com.au to discover your boarding school options today⁠

Social media can be a real mixed bag. There’s so much juiciness about it – its power of connectivity, its ability to help forge new, global friendships, it' enriching escapism, its use as a portal to new worlds and as a tool for information.

But there are the downsides, too. Trolls, for one. If you’re not careful, Instagram can play perfectly into the hands of the old saying, comparison is the thief of joy. That’s one of the reasons why Emily Herbert enjoyed today’s guest so much. Marion Saunders is the fabulous woman behind the Instagram account @mazlifestyle and it is joy on a grid.

Maz is a grandmother, designer, entrepreneur and something of an Insta It girl. She lives on a property near the tiny community of Carinda in the far north of NSW, nearly 90 kilometres from Walgett and 100km from Coonamble.

Maz is cheerfulness personified. Em laughs out loud at some of her reels and just love her positivity and zest for life, and how she brings humour and a contagious sense of fun to her everyday. She’s all about getting women to love the skin they’re in; boosting confidence in her 30,000 followers.

Yet her journey to representing self-love and confidence has been a long road - leaving high school when she was 16 after struggling with her sense of self and where she fit in.

The CWA is an icon of Australia.

Everyone knows it, respects it and most have a story to share about it. The Country Women's Association is akin family for anyone who’s ever lived in rural Australia,

For the last 100 years its women have been responsible for huge progress in the areas of health, facilities and telecommunications for the bush. But more than that – decades ago, when city women fell in love and married men who were from the country, often they were leaving the comforts of city life, to take up house, that was no more than a dwelling, often there was no electricity, no plumbing, it's unlikely there was a garden, plush finishes and soft furnishings were not widespread.

The adjustment was huge, and times were lonely – and this is where the CWA women quietly played their part. Arriving at the doorsteps of these women, with warm scones or cake, to introduces themselves to the newcomer, and then explain the lie of the land and offer friendship, connection and eventually community.

Our guest today is the CEO of the CWA of NSW Danica Leys – she grew up on the outskirts of Sydney in Picton, studied Ag Science, went on to work for a law firm and has now landed as the CEO of the CWA of NSW.

In this conversations, we explore Danica’s unconventional rise in the ranks of ag advocacy and we observe the relevance of the CWA of NSW as it celebrates its 100 year anniversary.

This week's podcast is sponsored by Sorority Clothing. A relatively new brand, which was founded in 2021 by Cara who; after living in London for many years wanted to bring a little piece of this to Western Qld. ⁠

Sorority Clothing has quality cotton pieces that are not only wearable and timeless but would suit any age, shape and style. Liberty of London is the main signature collection and the beautiful blouses, headbands and accessories have sold out many times over. New styles are now available.

Do you sometimes think how good it would be to chuck it all in and head off on an adventure?

It can be nice to daydream about how things could be different –even for just a moment.

For Lyndee Severin, those feelings weren’t a pipe dream…

Speaking to Lyndee, I get the feeling she’s someone who isn’t afraid to get stuck in and give things a go. She was the first one in her family to go to university, graduating with a business degree in her mid-20s as a mature-age student whilst parenting her two young kids as a single mum. After working as a public servant for nearly a decade, Lyndee decided to go on a trip of a lifetime when she was 40-years old - riding her motorbike from her home in Wollongong to Darwin. It was a trip that would change her life and see her move to Curtin Springs Station – a million-hectare cattle and tourism enterprise, not far from Uluru in Australia’s red centre.

Looking back at taking that first motorbike trip 20 years ago, Lyndee had no idea how the holiday would set the course of the rest of her life.

This episode sponsor is the Graziher 2022 Boarding School Guide.

MAKING A DECISION ABOUT your children’s education can be a struggle.

Boarding school is something that many children from rural, regional and remote areas experience in their lives. It can be one of the greatest experiences – making lifelong friends; getting a great education; and being offered amazing extra-curricular activities such as sports and cultural activities. Making a decision about your child’s education can be difficult, so we have created a guide to help make that hard decision a little easier for those of you who are facing it.

In our current Autumn issue, there is a lift-out for you to read. It features some fantastic schools and expo information. Along with some insights about boarding school from our regular contributors Jane Smith, Jayne Cuddihy and Grace Quast.

Or head to Graziher.com.au for our digital Graziher Boarding School Guide, it has extended stories on all the schools featured a directory and direct links to all school websites.

It’s free for everyone to read.

It’s A LOT. All that is going on around us; in our backyard and afar. A lot to take in and contextualise within our own lives.

In the last few years there has been so many unprecedented's, worst ever’s and an evolution of world events that were acknowledged as absurdity only a few years ago.

I’ve found that gaining a deeper understanding helps.

Our guest today is ABC Journalist and Macadamia farmer Bronwyn Herbert, who lives on high ground just 10 kilometres from Lismore.

Over the course of the last 10 days her life, and the lives of her community have been turned on their face. Brown, murky, debris filled flood waters, 2 metres higher than the highest ever recording, crushed her community and their days are now filled with the chaos of finding minders for children, so adults can work, and if they’re not working they’re helping someone, strangers to clean up, or wash clothes or cook meals, or share a cool drink.

While you listen to Bronwyn's story have a think about a new initiative Graziher is setting up in response to the QLD and northern NSW floods.

The Graziher Bush Telegraph will be set up to help flood effected businesses get back on their feet.

We know that when the waters reside, businesses will need the help of the Graziher community for many months to come.

So we will be launching the Bush Telegraph in the next issue of Graziher to get the word out. Contact Sally via email to find out how we can help. Her email address is [email protected].

Other ways to donate or help out

Givit: Specific items of need or wide reaching donations

Koori Mail Flood Fundraiser

Lismore City Council Flood Fund:

Name: Lismore City Council – Flood Appeal Account

BSB: 062 565

Account:10864633

Northern Rivers Preschool Alliance GoFundMe page

To describe Nicola Forrest AO in a few words is incredibly difficult. She is a mother, philanthropist, change-maker and country girl born and bred.

Alongside her husband Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Metals Group, Nicola is the co-chair and co-founder of Minderoo Foundation and a director of the Tattarang Group.

She campaigns to better the lives of children and the vulnerable, but also drives advances in the arts and community sectors and for the equality of women.

Her story is many things; it’s aspirational and I hope you will find it inspirational but most of all, and the reason we wanted to tell Nicola’s behind-the-scenes story is because it’s relatable. Nicola Forrest could have been any one of us; she grew up on a farm in Spicers Creek in central west New South Wales, had a penchant for agriculture and on travelling to remote north Queensland for a sniff of adventure, she fell in love with the Outback and eventually Andrew Forrest.

This is a story of Nicola Forrest as a young girl and as a mother. And a warning this episode does speak about the loss of a child. If this may be triggering for yourself or anyone you know please call lifeline on 13 11 14.

Thank you to our amazing sponsor for this episode, the team from SG Off-Road - Make adventure happen with SG Off-Road.⁠⁠⁠

THE AUTUMN ISSUE OF GRAZIHER IS ON SALE NOW graziher.com.au

This conversation talks about child sexual abuse, mental illness and other subjects which may be triggering. Please, if it brings anything up, call Lifeline on 13 14 14, or 1800 RESPECT.

Our guest today is journalist Virginia Tapscott, whose words have graced many a Graziher page. Ginny lives on a property near Albury with her husband, Rhys and their four young children, Oscar, 6, four year old Eva, three year old Elke and four month old Tully.

Ginny, who was named the Caroline Jones Women in Media Young Journalist’s Award in 2019 and last year named as one of 21 women who defined 2021 by Vogue Magazine, is breaking completely new ground with her fight against child sexual abuse.

The journalist has recently launched an investigative podcast series alongside The Australian newspaper and reporter Steve Jackson, called My Sister’s Secrets. It’s an at-times harrowing and deeply difficult listen. But it’s also courageous and compelling, as Ginny explores the events leading up to the abuse she and her older sister, Ally experienced as children, by their step grandfather. Ally later experienced a separate alleged assault as a teenager, and died in June 2020 from a drug overdose.

These are stories we’d rather weren’t real. But they are, and Ginny’s bravery is extraordinary. Her ability to look the ugly truth in the eye and speak about her lived experience is sending ripples across Australia. And she’s creating a safe space for other survivors to come forward and seek the help and justice they deserve. We want to help platform her work to help others in the bush have these tough conversations. For legal reasons, part of this interview has been removed.

Listen to My Sisters Secrets an investigative podcast by Virginia and journalist Steve Jackson for The Australian newspaper here.

Other helpful resources:

Bravehearts - Australia's leading child protection organisation.

'The Body Keeps The Score' by Bessel Van Der Kolk

The Grace Tame Foundation (2021 Australian of the Year)

All women police stations in Latin America. Article.

Victoria Carey is the editorial director of Graziher and she admits that choosing a favourite episode of our podcast Life on the Land was difficult. Her decision was Maggie MacKellar which she says will come as no surprise to many of you.

"I love Maggie's writing. She is a wonderful wordsmith and I always look forward to our chats about her next column. We love to talk about things that are happening on the farm, what our kids are doing and one of our favourite topics is, of course, when to get back on a horse! Maggie's already doing it but I'm yet to get back on. I really do enjoy our working relationship.

"More than that, when Maggie's story first went to air on ABC TV's Australian Story in 2011, I was so touched by her bravery in talking about what had happened to her and her family. The loss of her husband at such a young age to mental illness was followed closely by the death of her mother from cancer. I really admire her bravery and honesty in talking about this so openly."