Toni Tapp Coutts grew up on a cattle station in the Northern Territory as the eldest of 10 children. She's an author who wrote a bestselling memoir about her childhood on the legendary Killarney cattle station. Her stepfather was cattle king Bill Tapp, and for the first few years of family life on the property there was no electricity and Toni and her siblings slept under the stars in swags. She was just five. Toni went on to raise her own kids in the gulf country, 600km from town. She's had a varied career, from station life, to campdrafting, running a clothing boutique and now, real estate. Toni has been with her husband for nearly half a century! It's been quite a ride. This is her story.

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This is the chat that got Olympia Yarger all fired up! Olympia is the CEO of Goterra, a waste management company that manages food waste with robotic maggot farms.
She's a farmer who calls herself the 'maggot lady', and boy is she kicking goals after being named the ACT's Australian of the Year 2023. Olympia's backstory is fascinating. After losing her first child in a tragic accident on her farm, she moved to the US to escape, but ended up staying there for 14 years after she married a marine.  Her husband did six combat tours in 12 years, and being a military wife was challenging for Olympia to say the least. Olympia is unapologetically herself, and we had a fascinating conversation where she opened up about things she doesn't often talk about publicly, so if you've listened to Olympia before, and if you've seen her recent media interviews, those chats are nothing like this one. This is her story.

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Edwina Bartholemew has been a journalist for more than 20 years and I'm sure you're all familiar with her from Sunrise. What you might not know though is Edwina's growing connection to the country.  Her and her husband Neil bought a small farm in the Capertee valley of NSW which they set up as a boutique accommodation business. Neil, who has a background in tech, became an accidental farming after moving there for a whole year to set it all up. When covid hit, Edwina, Neil, and their little girl Molly bunkered down there for months. Since then, Edwina has welcomed another child, and it was a thrill hear more about her life behind the TV screens. You'll hear how motherhood has given her a higher purpose, why her and her husband sleep in separate beds, and why she's selling her Sydney home, to invest in a country community! This is her story.

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Emma Hawkins is a mum of three, a business owner, and a digital influencer who lives on a farm just outside of Geelong. As a born and bred country girl, the land has become her quiet sanctuary away from the thundering roar of footy crowds and the prying eyes of the media. She had to get used to all that quickly after marrying her high school sweetheart, AFL star Tom Hawkins. I felt like Emma and I could have talked forever, so strap yourselves in because we cover a lot and we laugh a lot too!
You'll hear all about her love story with the 'Tomahawk', through to her motherhood journey, and the isolation she felt during covid when Tom was whisked away to a quarantine training hub for two months. Plus- the hilarious reason why Emma refuses to ever own sheep again! This is her story.

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Sophie Hansen is a mum of two teens, and she's a food writer living on a farm near Orange in New South Wales. She met her husband through an R.M.Williams magazine (that's a story!) and life on the land is not what she had planned. Sophie grew up in the city and after working in food magazines,  had her own Eat Pray Love experience when she packed up and moved to a rural community in Italy for a few years which inspired her love of slow and seasonal food. Fast forward to today, and she's created a big brand (and lots of books) which all started with a simple blog from the farm. Soph's story is a fitting way to wrap up a big 2023 for Motherland....we also talked about how to take the pressure off ourselves and survive the chaos of Christmas! This is her story.

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When Leila McDougall finished school, she left the land and headed to the big smoke to study fashion design. But it wasn't long before the country came calling again, and she settled down in rural Victoria with her husband. Since then, Leila has had two children; she's navigated mental health challenges most of her life- her parents have also struggled. Leila had just had her first child, when her mum attempted to take her own life. Leila is a fierce mental health advocate for rural Australia, so much so that she's made a movie to shine a light on mental health on the land. "Just a Farmer" may be a fictional movie, but with Leila as the lead character, it brings with it some very real and powerful messages. This is her story.

Give the gift of craft this Christmas with R.M.Williams. Shop their festive gift guide full of thoughtful, handcrafted and Australian made gifts that promise a lifetime of adventures. Explore the full collection now at rmwilliams.com.au.

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Emma Jackson has lived in the Cape York Peninsula for more than 20 years. She's originally from North Manchester, and the transition to life in rural Australia was a bit of a shock, not to mention the fact that yes, a snake tried to eat her son one night... but there is much more to her story!  Emma has four kids, and is in the thick of navigating the teen years. Mental health has been a huge focus for her family, especially after her nephew took his own life shortly after finishing year 12. That led Emma to start the Conquer the Corrugations charity walk. In 2021, Emma saved someone's life, which is why she was named the 2022 RFDS Queensland Hero. We cover a lot in our chat. This is Emma's story.

Give the gift of craft this Christmas with R.M.Williams. Shop their festive gift guide full of thoughtful, handcrafted and Australian made gifts that promise a lifetime of adventures. Explore the full collection now at rmwilliams.com.au.

The King’s School is one of Australia’s largest boarding communities and has welcomed boys from Regional Australia for nearly two hundred years.Applications are now open for King’s 2025 Scholarships and Bursaries for Years 7 to 11. Visit www.kings.edu.au

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Maggie Mackellar is a writer, living on a fine wool merino farm on the east coast of Tasmania. Maggie didn't grow up on the land, but her family's strong ties to farming were her saviour during the hardest years of her life. Maggie's husband suicided more than 20 years ago. At the time, she had a five year old and was pregnant with their second child. In  the same year, Maggie lost her mum. She escaped the city and sought refuge at her aunt and uncle's property to figure out her next steps. What happened over the next eight years, was not what she had planned. Her writing career flourished... and amongst it all, she found love again through the most unexpected way. In our chat Maggie reflects on grief, mental health, motherhood, and importantly, what's it's like in this new chapter of motherhood- with her children now grown up! This is her story.

Give the gift of craft this Christmas with R.M.Williams. Shop their festive gift guide full of thoughtful, handcrafted and Australian made gifts that promise a lifetime of adventures. Explore the full collection now at rmwilliams.com.au.

The King’s School is one of Australia’s largest boarding communities and has welcomed boys from Regional Australia for nearly two hundred years.Applications are now open for King’s 2025 Scholarships and Bursaries for Years 7 to 11. Visit www.kings.edu.au

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Fiona is a dairy farmer based in Deniliquin, NSW. She's one of seven children and grew up in a very loving catholic family. Fiona went on to have four children of her own, all boys, but it wasn't long before she realised her third son, was a bit different. At first, it was easy to brush off his desire to dress and act like a girl as a bit of fun, but as the years went on, Fiona and her husband realised this was very real- and it was life threatening.
At 13, Fiona's son told her he was transgender, born with a body he said he simply couldn't live with much longer Since then, it's been a roller-coaster for the whole family to say the least.  And for Fiona, she's had to navigate so many emotions- shock, fear, grief- and immense love, all that the same time. From it all, Alice has emerged.... Alice is now 16 living happily as a transgender teenage girl. This is Fiona's story.

Give the gift of craft this Christmas with R.M.Williams. Shop their festive gift guide full of thoughtful, handcrafted and Australian made gifts that promise a lifetime of adventures. Explore the full collection now at rmwilliams.com.au.

Get 15% off when you spend $100 or more at The Memo. Use code MOTHERLAND15 at checkout to redeem. It’s your parenting & baby destination with gifts for every age, stage, price and personality. This offer is valid until 20 Nov 2023. T&Cs and exclusions apply. Valid for new customers only.

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Anthea Fellows is a mum and a grandmother and over the past few decades she's worked tirelessly doing community work across various organisations and charities.  Anthea has been married for 35 years and her life has been anything but dull. At 22, she left the Adelaide Hills and moved to a cattle station just outside Alice Springs where she met a jackaroo, and, well, you know what happened next! Anthea had two children and struggled with her mental health at times. Her husband was also battling his own demons, and after 14 years of station life, they decided to leave the property and were gone within a week. There was a twist I didn't see coming in our chat though, just eight years ago, Anthea's husband ended up in a Chinese prison. And Anthea's response to him being jailed... took me by surprise to say the least! This is her story.

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