Central Station - True Stories from Outback Australia

Khory Hancock knows what it's like to live in two different worlds at the same time. An environmental scientist by trade, Khory was born and raised on a large cattle property in Queensland. It was his belief that agriculture, in particular cattle farming, was a part of the solution to environmental problems, not the cause, that led him down the path of advocacy. Khory knew it wouldn’t be easy to d...

Apologies for not posting an episode for so long! As the count down to the podcast baby gets shorter and shorter, I have been "making hay while the sun shines" and doing lots of contract work!  So, here is an oldie but a goodie, and one we get requested all the time! This episode is based on one of the most popular stories on the Central Station website, called “ Tips for station newbies ”. From a...

Munro Hardy's pathway to his current career has not been straight forward. After a gap year around Australia saw him fall in love with agriculture (Episode 190, Part 1), he kept on that path, trying his hand at all he could (Episode 193, Part 2).  But, at some point, Munro decided to step away from the cattle industry and try his hand at all sorts of jobs, including pearling, roadworks, mining, an...

As promised, here is part 2 of our chat with Munro Hardy. While he's only 35 years young, holy hatbox he has managed to fit a lot into a short space of time! In this episode he shares stories from his time working in live export, contract mustering, and a pretty hairy tale from a trip to Egypt... If you haven't listened to Part 1, go back and listen first! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Today I’ve got something a bit special for you – as you would have heard in Part 1 – Munro Hardy has had many adventures in his life so far. When we were recording Part 2, Munro shared a story that I was not expecting, and it’s pretty hectic – so much so that I thought it should come out a week early in its own episode. So... enjoy this preview of Part 2, and please, don’t try this at home! See om...

Starting a family is no longer as simple as meeting a partner and falling in love. I’m not sure if fertility challenges are becoming more common, or just more spoken about – but it certainly feels as though both are true. While stories about fertility challenges are becoming more common, no two are the same. In today’s episode, I sit down with Kim and Gus from Umbearra Station, 4 hours south of Al...

Munro Hardy has been a busy man. At just 35 years old, Munro’s career has taken him from fencing croc-infested rivers in the Top End, to mustering cattle from a helicopter, to boardrooms in Sydney, and most recently around the world as a Nuffield Scholar. It took a bit of convincing, but we managed to wrangle Munro to sit down and share his story. In this episode, he tells tales from the gap year...

Nathan Dyer has found himself in some crazy situations, in the most remote parts of Australia... on assignment. The job? Freelance journalist and photographer. It's a far cry from his humble beginnings as a corporate accountant in the metropolis of Melbourne.  In this episode, Nathan shares the unconventional path he took to land a job so many of us dream of, and some of the life changing experien...

Since Annabelle Coppin was a child, she wanted people to eat the beef her family raised on their Pilbara cattle station. But, simply selling cattle to the market wasn’t enough for her - she wanted to be involved in the entire process, and watch as people picked up packets of her beef from the supermarket. She wanted them to know that what they were about to cook wasn’t just any old Aussie beef, bu...

Would you ever take in a child that wasn’t your own? If you’re imagining a relative, or a friend’s child - the answer might be a simple, straightforward, “yes, of course!” But what if you didn’t know the child? And, if, once you get to know them, bond with them, and love them, they could be taken away? That’s the reality of foster parents across the world. In today’s episode, we hear the story of...

When Wave Hill Station was sold in a $104 million dollar deal, Jumbuck Pastoral and its consortium of partners became the 4th ever owner of the iconic station in its 140 year history. It was a sale that said “watch this space”. In this episode, we sit down with Matt and Connie Wood, who we last heard from in episode 123, as they prepared to leave their job as managers at Blina Station in the Kimbe...

The adventure of a lifetime, two best mates, riding side by side in the wild landscape of Mongolia. When Jess and Nat entered the world’s toughest horse race, they knew it would be hard. Finishing the race itself was as big a deal as winning. But, these women were from the Northern Territory - they’d spent their lives working in rugged conditions in remote areas. Surely, they’d be fine? In this ep...

Shane “Lochy” O’Loughlin arrived in the Kimberley at the age of 16. He’d already left both home and school at the age of 12, and now he had something to prove.   However, Lochy’s start in the Kimberley was anything but smooth sailing.   Over the past 40 years, Lochy has lived a life full of adventure and learning. There’s not many places in the Kimberley he hasn’t set foot on, either as a stockman...

This episode is Part 2 of our chat with Chico Shaw. If you haven't listened to Part 1, stop now and go back.   In Part 1, Chico shared the story of his adoption from Brazil into a family from Bondi Beach, and how he ended up working on a cattle station in the Gulf of Queensland.   In this episode, Chico shares stories from his time working in the Northern Territory, why he left the industry for al...

In 1987 a mechanic found a baby boy abandoned on the streets in Brazil.    Today, that baby boy is a grown man living and working on a cattle station in the Northern Territory, Australia.    “Blessed”, is how Chico Shaw describes his life. A life that could have turned out so differently.   In this episode Chico shares the story of his adoption into a family from Bondi beach, how he ended up worki...

This episode contains discussions about anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm. It may be best to listen in the support of company, or skip this episode. If you need help, a range of services are available. Please see the show notes for more details.   Claudia Hiscox has spent the last three years living and working on cattle stations in remote parts of the Northern Territory. The day...

In 2002, Ian ‘Rocky’ Rockwell took a group of year 11 students from Sydney to Alice Springs for an “adventure”. The kids were to trek the Larapinta Trail, ride camels, cook on campfires, and experience the “outback”. That trip changed not only the trajectory of Rocky’s life, but some of the students as well. Rob Mann was one of those students. In this episode, Rocky and Rob share the story about t...

In 2022, Olivia Thompson sold 3 cattle stations in the Northern Territory. Those 3 properties exceeded 1 million hectares combined. It’s a world away from the 1000m2 block of land that was her first sale as a real estate agent some 20 years ago in the coastal town of Cairns.   Olivia is a prime example of the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by it's cover”. Beyond her beautiful smile and polished l...

Haydn Sale manages one the largest aggregations of cattle and land in northern Australia – but chances are, you’ve never heard of him.    Unlike others in his position, Haydn wasn’t born into the northern cattle industry. Nor did he do a gap year up north straight out of boarding school for one of the big corporates. He also wasn’t a General Manager or CEO of some other company in some other indus...

Anika Molesworth is a farmer, scientist, and storyteller. And she's on a mission to cultivate climate courage. In an incredibly short period of time, Anika has amassed a number of accolades including: Young Farmer of the Year, Young Australian of the Year finalist, and a Masters and PhD.   She has also released a best-selling book, ' Our sunburnt country ', and co-founded the Farmers for Climate A...

Golden-guitar winning Tom Curtain and his incredible wife and business partner, Annabel, were our guests on the very first episode of this podcast way back in June 2019. Way back when I had never recorded a podcast, and didn’t know what sound quality was. So, last night I sat down with Tom and Annabel for take two. My plan was to rerecord just our first episode in better sound quality, but plans c...

Back in episodes 150, 151 and 156, we heard the stories of Debbie and Ashley Dowden from Challa Station in the southern rangelands of WA. Now, two of those episodes were recorded with Debbie, and Ashley only recorded one... or did he? For those of you who don't know, we actually have two podcast series. Central Station, the one you're listening to right now, and the other one is called Cattle Stat...

Tourists Where do I begin? Tourists are part and parcel of life in the outback. And, while some are worth their weight in gold, others make life just that little bit harder... In this [best of] episode, I’ve pulled together a few yarns about tourists from previous episodes.  And to any tourists listening... we do love you... sort of… but please, plan ahead, have back ups o...

Robbie Schmidt is a self-confessed ratbag.   The Alice Springs identity spent his formative years traveling between large properties in South Australia and the Northern Territory, so it’s not surprising that he ended up working as a station manager. But, then Robbie and his partner chose to step away from working in agriculture for 5 long years.  In this episode, Robbie shares yarns...

So often, stories about outback Australia revolve around people working on the land.  But, not everyone who lives in the outback wears a big hat and cowboy boots. Renee McBryde lives in Alice Springs, Australia’s red centre. It’s a world away from the housing commission in Sydney where she spent her childhood. Renee’s story is unlike any we have ever come across. At the age of 6 she learnt th...