Big Little Small Talk

Megan checks in again with Rojin Rash who first featured on Big Little Small Talk in 2022.Rojin, along with her husband and young son fled war torn Syria to move to Toowoomba in 2017. They have settled here in Australia, had two more children and contributed greatly to the community. Rojin now works as a Police Liaison Officer bridging the communication and trust gap between the Ezidi community an...

John Randall has lived a big and varied life. Once a jackaroo he now owns a Botanical Design company. In between he’s done many things including working as a development officer in Vanuatu and Western Australia. Lady Flo Bjelke Petersen once mistook John for the entertainer Simon Gallagher and invited him to sit at her table all evening. This and many more engaging stories from John fill up our 50...

Cindy Nicollet is the founder of the Not-for-Profit organisation called Kindher Threads. Kindher Threads uses personal styling to walk alongside women doing it tough—whether they are navigating hardship, rebuilding their lives, or simply in need of a confidence boost. Cindy has a background in psychology and she says her styling sessions are sometimes part therapy and part exploration of fashion....

James O’Shea is a well known local figure. Currently he serves as a Councillor on the Toowoomba Regional Council. Prior to this, he was chief of staff at WIN News. James had the pleasure of working there with his well-known racing identity father, Pat O’Shea. James is the product of Pat and Cecile, a Filipino national. He and his sisters grew up together on Jellicoe Street and he shares with Megan...

Lisa Herbert says you can tell a lot about a town from its cemetery. She should know; she’s become somewhat an expert on death. From conducting tours of the local cemetery, to appearing at a Government inquiry into missing graves, to writing a book to help us navigate our own death and funeral, Lisa is a an aficionado. She’s even organising a death expo to be held in Toowoomba 11 October 2025, Sta...

Marina Elliott is a young female apiarist. Marina says there aren’t many people in the bee industry who look and feel like her - meaning truck-driving, machine-operating, heavy-lifting female beekeepers. It is for this reason, and because she loves it of course, Marina thinks she’ll hang around. Marina’s spare time is taken up running a pop-up Greek Cafe in a community hall in Hume Street. She has...

Dr Mark Copland is first and foremost a humanitarian. His core values revolve around compassion, empathy and solidarity with others. He donates his time to charity, raises awareness about social issues and constantly offers a helping hand to someone in need. No, he’s not Jesus…in fact his friends describe him like this “he’s just good fun, slightly goofy and a bit nerdy and genuinely funny”.

Margaret Turnbull is the President of 'Friends of The Empire Theatre'. She leads a merry band of over 200 volunteers who provide services to keep the Empire Theatre functioning. From ushering to catering to backstage tours, The Friends provide over 8000 volunteer hours per year. More than just a volunteer organisation, The Friends are genuine friends of each other and have a community of likeminde...

Chris Black is only just 40, and yet he has achieved so much in his short life. In 2018 he was announced as one of Australia’s 50 most influential financial planners. He is currently the Chair of a local facility Momentum Mental Health and he is personally invested in its continued success. He has recently returned from a fundraising campaign; Chris lead 19 locals to the Kokoda Trail in PNG. He le...

Nicole Morris is an author and the Director of the Australian Missing Persons Register, which she founded in 2005. Incredibly, over 38,000 people are reported missing in Australia each year. 99% are found within three months. The remainder are championed by Nicole with her advocacy and awareness raising. She is the a voice for the voiceless.

Bridget Chant aka @chantyb97 on TikTok is a remarkable young woman. For want of a better word Bridget is an “influencer”. She makes videos, captioning what her Indian blue ringneck parrot, Hamlet has to say about the ordinary things in their lives. She has over 4 million followers on TikTok but her fame has come at her sideways. Bridget is a thoughtful person, Megan believes she is wise beyond her...

When Megan asked Denny Edwards to describe himself in three words he said “tenacious, optimistic advocate”.Denny seems to have lived his life at breakneck speed; motorbikes, Defence Force postings overseas, scuba diving and veteran’s hockey. Even a recent brain bleed has only slowed him down marginally. Denny tells his story with thoughtful insight. If anything raised in this podcast has raised co...

Maud Bagnall grew up in rural France, raised by her loving grandparents. For some unknown reason, they were fascinated with Australia, its landscapes and indigenous culture. Sadly neither of her grandparents got to visit but Maud did and she ended up becoming an Australian citizen. She has two children, her last born when Maud was 48 years old. A rich and beautiful tale.

Dr Maree Toombs has lead an extraordinary life. From dropping out of high school and falling pregnant as a teenager to becoming a highly respected Professor and Deputy Dean. Her never ending advocacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is exemplary and a credit to her mob. She is fierce, she’s determined, she’s passionate and kind. Maree was never destined to be ordinary. If anything...

Recently Megan visited the Toowoomba Parkinson’s Support Group for their yearly check in to see how things are travelling for the group.    This year Megan chats with Carol and Janette whose husbands both have Parkinson’s. The women describe what has happened with their husbands facial expressions, projection of voice and changes in handwriting. Megan finishes her interview with a chat to Associat...

Richard Edwards is the Labor candidate for Groom in the 2025 Federal election. Richard has a deep connection to Groom, with family roots in the region dating back to the 1860s. His great-great-great-grandparents chose Pittsworth as the place to settle and raise their family. Richard works with disaffected youth and their families. He has a big heart and a sensibility well beyond his years. He is a...

Peter Mullins is one of life’s quiet achievers. As a boy growing up in South Africa, he sailed with his father occasionally, he feels at home and peaceful on the water. When he moved to inland Toowoomba, he wasn’t sure he could with continue his passion for sailing. Fortunately he was and furthermore, he became the President of an organisation called “Sailability” - Sailing for people with a disab...

Robert Ketton is a consummate story teller. Whether it’s using his knowledge of the mining men in Northern England who became painters and called themselves “Pitmen Painters” to tales about train spotting with his grandfather as a boy, every story is mesmerising. Robert lectured in Theatre at UniSq until his retirement. He has written and directed dozens of plays, written several books and togethe...

Daniel Erbacher is a singer, dancer, choreographer, voice artist and an actor. He knew when he chose the performing arts as a career, life was not always going to be easy. Fingers crossed, life so far has been full of opportunity for this talented young artist. His powerful performances and undeniable stage presence in The Rocky Horror Show, A Very Naughty Christmas and most recently Grease The Mu...

Join Megan each week for Big Little Small Talk. Bringing you conversations each week with Rural and Regional people where the talk is neither small nor boring. Make sure to like, subscribe and comment and always recommend this podcast to a friend. You can also listen to Big Little Small Talk live on the radio on 102.7 FM Toowoomba every Tuesday at 12pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on 1027.co...

Toowoomba’s Christmas Wonderland has been bringing joy to the community since 2003. With over $1.5 million dollars raised and over 1 million people attending, it’s a logistical challenge and someone needs to pull it together. Marshall Cox and his team of volunteers work tirelessly to ensure this incredible event happens every year, no matter what the weather forecast. One such volunteer describes...

Belinda Keats, Georgie Keats and Felicity Burton had a dream. They dreamt that if you were a rural person and you required medical help “in town”, you could go to a warm,safe home at night and close the door. And so they went about making it happen. They own 3x2 bedroom units in Toowoomba that share a common back yard for children to run around. 'Common Ground' is a lifesaving project that...

Julz McBain is a surprise package from start to finish. She moved to Toowoomba in 2023 after her marriage ended. During this time she completed a full-time fashion marketing degree (with high distinctions!) and continued to raise her two small children. Julz is now the co-founder and creative director of the Toowoomba Fashion Festival. It’s a high end event, sure to put Toowoomba on the design map...

Mick Metcalfe joined the Queensland Ambulance Service in 1991. He has held various roles from Union Delegate to Deputy Assistant Commissioner, all the while dipping in and out of the job of a first responder. Mick is sanguine about his work “people die all the time” he says. “Sometimes the most important thing you can do is be there in their hour of need”. Mick speaks candidly about his upbringing...

Mark O’Brien is a man of many talents. He’s an accomplished businessman and entrepreneur, he’s a former mayor and aspirational State Member. Inconceivably, Mark has been the Commissioner of both Drought and Wild Dogs. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019. Mark is a direct descendant of the O’Brien family of Defiance Flouring Milling Company fame and on top of all of that….an e...