Central Station - True Stories from Outback Australia

Jim Edwards has been a fixture of the pastoral industry in Western Australia for decades. From growing up on a station near Marble Bar, to being a mustering pilot and station owner - there’s not a lot Jim hasn’t seen or done. At one point, he literally swapped his Pilbara cattle station for a farm in Queensland – talk about a tree change! But, as you’ll learn in this episode, while you can take th...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves.  Find the story from this episode here: https://www.centralstation.net.au/the-other-east/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with the Keogh boys: Clem- 5, Lachy- 8, and Jacob- 10. These brothers live on Durham Downs Station in South West Queensland, and while they all love station life, they’re chalk and cheese. Jacob is the creative up and coming movie director, Lachy is the cattleman, and Clem, well - Clem is Clem! Keep your ears peeled for some absolute pearlers in this episode – becau...

Having grown up on an island and spending her childhood with the local surf life savers club, Tannas Godfrey could never have predicted what her future held for her: a career in the Australian Military, falling in love with a bloke from the bush, going through the heartache of unsuccessful succession planning, and having to start over. It’s so rare that we hear someone speak so candidly about thei...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves.  Find the story from this episode here: https://www.centralstation.net.au/dont-dwell-on-the-small-things/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the dictionary, adapability is: "the quality of being able to adjust to new conditions". In today’s episode, I sit down with one of the most adaptable people I have ever met – Sally Jolly. Sally’s family has a long and rich history in the Pilbara pastoral industry, and it’s no surprise that cattle and red dirt run through her veins. But, just because she started her life on a Pilbara...

Do you remember the old nursey rhyme from primary school that goes along the lines of “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage”. Well, that was the order of things for Hayley Price – in just over 12 months, she met and married the man of her dreams, falling pregnant just before their wedding. But during her pregnancy, Hayley was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma,...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves.  Find the story from this episode here: https://www.centralstation.net.au/little-people-huge-hearts/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The name Edwina Robertson is synonymous with incredible imagery of people in rural Australia. In amongst being the country’s most sought after Outback wedding photographer, Eddie has had a number of adventures, including traveling across the country without spending a dollar, and trying her hand at jillarooing at the ripe old age of 34. I recently caught up with Eddie to discuss her incredible adv...

Kirsty Williams lives on Peake Station near Oodnadatta in South Australia. In amongst working on the station, working in town as a teacher, sharing her home with staff, and juggling four kids under the age of 6 (and the endless baskets of dirty laundry that come with it all) – Kirsty certainly didn’t think there was anything interesting about her life to share in a podcast episode. But what you’ll...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves.  Find the story from this episode here: https://www.centralstation.net.au/little-people-huge-hearts/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Williams left home at the age of 16 to work on Nilpinna Station for his childhood idol Jimmy Nunn. That was almost 50 years ago. Today, Tony is in his 40th year as the manager of Mt Barry Station, near the town of Coober Pedy in SA. In this episode, he shares yarns from the past 5 decades and what he has learnt along the way about life, love, and loss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Today is Part 2 of our episode with Peter Rowe, the Outback Postman. Now, if you haven’t listened to Part 1 – stop right here and go back to find it – because in addition to being a cracker yarn, it provides a lot of context about how Rowie came to be the man he is. In this episode we talk about the 600km round trip he makes twice a week to deliver mail to small towns and remote cattle stations al...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episode here: https://www.centralstation.net.au/woulda-coulda-shoulda/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the last 19 years, Peter Rowe, or Rowie, as he is known by the locals, has been delivering mail to small towns and cattle stations along the Oodnadatta Track in South Australia. Rowie is an incredible gentleman who’s story is, well, incredible. I had such a great time yarning with him that we ended up recording for 2 hours, so this episode will be release in 2 parts. In this first part Rowie s...

Most of us have done a first aid course before. It's something you have to do, but don't think you'll ever actually need. We never think that someone else's life will actually be in our hands. But that was the reality for Jill Greenfield, when a bystander saved her life during a medical emergency. In this episode, we learn about who Jill is and how she came to live at Billa Kalina Station, how a s...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's episode, Steph travels to the centre of South Australia to Billa Kalina Station, which has been in the Greenfield family since 1938. Pastoralist Col Greenfield shares what it's like running a cattle station that is inside the Woomera Prohibited Area, and outside the dog fence.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kempe family’s involvement in the pastoral industry traces back to the 1800’s, when Ernest Courtenay Kempe was in partnership with the Sir Sidney Kidman. His nephew Ernest Ravenscroft Kempe ran away from home at the age of 12, joining him at The Peak station. Between Ernest Ravenscroft Kempe and his son John Kempe they served 100 years with the S. Kidman Pastoral company. In this episode, the...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episode here: https://www.centralstation.net.au/the-farmer-wants-a-son-in-law/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doug McBean is was raised on a cattle station in the Victoria River District in the Northern Territory. With 30 years under his belt as a helicopter mustering pilot, he’s seen and done a fair bit around the traps. So, you might think that a podcast episode with Doug would involve all sorts of wild yarns about mustering a helicopter – but that couldn’t be any further from what this episode is about...

Abbro Woolnough was born a 6th generation dairy farmer on the NSW north central coast. However, despite being surrounded by dairy cattle, he developed a passion for the beef industry. After his initial career plans didn’t work out, he moved to Mt Riddock Station in Central Australia as a jackeroo. But, that’s not the end of Abbro’s story. He then went on to work as a park ranger across Australia,...

Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves.  Find the story from this episode here: https://www.centralstation.net.au/the-story-of-groom-zilla-and-bride-doe-banger/    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Campbell Duff came to the Northern Territory thinking he knew it all and was ready to take on the world. Today, he is a completely different person. In this episode we speak about what prompted him to grow up from an overly confident teenager to a settled young man who has been given the responsibility of being head stockman on one of the Territory's most iconic cattle stations. See omnystudio.com...

With two cattle stations in the Northern Territory, a cattle property in Queensland, and a helicopter business, Rebecca and Steven Cadzow were in the perfect position to continue expanding their business interests and develop a pastoral empire that so many dream of. But, instead they made the decision to downsize to just one cattle station. In this episode Rebecca discusses their decision, the con...