First and foremost - this episode needs a tissues warning! It gets emotional.

Susannah Ritchie is a born and bred Territorian who left Darwin for uni with zero intentions of coming back. But like so many of us, the allure, familiarity and ease of the NT drew her home - having a husband and a new little baby certainly factored in. 

Head of English at Haileybury Rendall School, she's also a proud boy mum, pushing back on the societal expectations of women wanting a daughter, and being disappointed if they didn't have one.

In this episode, we also touch on the cruelty of losing a parent - especially a mum - at a time when you’re trying to navigate the crazy and frightening world of mumming .. and doing it so without her. Trigger warning - it gets emotional. But Susannah has a beautiful perspective that truly warms your heart. 

We also had some small technical difficulties during this episode, and apologise for the issues with one mic in particular.

Gella Catis owns Stomp Shoes in Darwin’s CBD.

She’s from a big Greek family, and she's a mum of three - at one stage with three under the age of one, falling pregnant with twins when her eldest daughter was just four-months-old.

Darwin born and bred, she moved to Melbourne to persue a career in fashion, before the call of home, her friends, and family came loud and clear after the birth of her eldest daughter. 

What was meant to be a two-year stint in the Top End, is now more than a decade in, and with a business, a Greek dance school, and a beautiful life in Darwin, she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

In the depths of Covid lockdowns, Kaila Handcock, her husband and two little girls packed their life away for the trip of a lifetime around Australia.

Running from lockdowns, they made it around Australia in one year and back home to Echuca, but something was missing.

Only weeks after arriving home, they knew it was Darwin that stole their heart, so they packed up their life again and came back to Darwin.

Kaila, a hairdresser by trade, talks about life in a caravan with two kids, why they chose Darwin over any other spot in Australia, and the true impacts of Covid lockdowns.

Follow Kaila's travels on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/two.tiny.trekkers/

Terese Trayhern packed her three boys into the backseat of her car and headed north after a marriage breakdown, back to her home town of Darwin, not knowing what was ahead.

She arrived in Darwin, met and married a cowboy at the Noonamah Rodeo, bought a childcare centre on a whim and has never looked back.

The childcare centre she bought was struggling for numbers, and now has a waitlist until January 2025, and she's looking at buying more.

She talks about her large blended family, how important it is to be a team, her husband's debilitating back injury and how he returned from the dark side of opioid use.

The Northern Territory Government have an extensive list of organisations available to help people with drug use. Please visit: https://nt.gov.au/wellbeing/health-conditions-treatments/alcohol-drugs-and-your-body/alcohol-drug-rehab-services

This is the last episode of our Dads Gone Troppo series, and we hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have.

Our final guest - it’s said Brad Morgan is one of the hospitality industry’s most head-hunted men. 

His established career has seen him run casinos in Alice Springs, Darwin and Townsville, and league clubs in Brisbane. He now runs three of his own venues - two here in Darwin and one in Adelaide.

He’s also a dad of five, a husband, and a grandad who calls Darwin home with his growing family.

Brad talks openly as a breadwinning parent achieving great things in his career while balancing that with a large family, and what he’s missed because of it.

He also talks about some of the most difficult years in his professional career.

His humor is dry, but he’s one of the best bosses you’ll ever have (according to Molly).

We speak often of mum guilt and loss of identity on this podcast,  but you rarely hear about it from the other side.

This episode's guest is here to change that.

Francis 'Gilly' Gill is open about the heavy weight of dad guilt and the huge shift in identity he felt when he welcomed his first child, and still feels as a dad balancing work, home with his wife and three kids and a sport which he loves deeply.

He is the principal of Seda College here in Darwin, a dad, heavily involved in the Pint Football Club, loves cricket, and his wife Jess.

It’s a classic case of you can have it all, but maybe not all at once, and a lesson in the changes that come as children grow.

The next person in the Dads Gone Troppo series is one of the Territory’s most well known and respected journalists, not just locally but nationally. 

If someone can sniff out a story - it’s Matt Cunningham.

His love of the NT is real, and he projects that through not just his work, but in the way he raises his kids.

His story on coming to the Territory is simple and beautiful - he just didn’t want to be in the big city rat race any longer. 

But it was a moment in the car with his wife on holiday in the Top End that really cemented their move back north, and they’ve never looked back.

Matt Cunningham is a dad of three, a husband and a media heavyweight with one leg shorter than the other.

Andrew Bruyn is the first in our dads gone troppo series.

Asking him on as a guest was a no-brainer, as he is someone extra special to Kathleen - he is her dad.

A long-term and well-known Territorian, many might remember Andy when he was a reporter for the then Channel 8 news, his long time affiliation with the Nine Network, or the countless boards and positions he’s held over the years, championing many causes around the Territory. 

One thing is for certain about Andy Bryun - he can spin a yarn like no one else. Listen in for stories about growing up in a regional pub, finding love for an older woman, stories of old school Territory and the newest joy in his life - his granddaughter Sally.

Prepare the tissues because this is a beautifully raw and emotional interview, with a man who loves being a dad, loves where he lives, and can spin a yarn like no one else.

Ruth Palmer is best known for her role as Executive Director of the Property Council NT, but away from work she’s gone through a lot in her life.

She left home at 15, experienced abuse at the hands of two different partners, came to the Territory, fell in love, found herself as a single mum, rebuilt her life and then found her forever happy place over a funny story involving a busted pipe in a brand new home.

While she may not have been born in the Territory, she loves the Territory lifestyle - shooting, fishing and hunting, you name it.

Enjoy this episode with a woman who is nothing less than truly inspirational.

Marcia Russell is the designer and dressmaker behind Darwin's Black Cat Couture. Her love of Indigenous textiles and vintage sewing patterns is contagious, and she regularly hunts around Australia's op shops for vintage sewing patterns. 

Marcia’s designs and creations have featured on many best dressed around the Top End and beyond. One outfit was even worn by our former Administrator when she met the Queen.

She’s a mum of two and a grandmother of two who’s dabbled in a few professions before really finding her calling.