Life on the Land

This episode will delight all the parents, guardians and teachers listening today, who have read aloud the tales of George the Farmer and his wife, Dr Ruby to the wide eyes and excited ears of little ones. Today we’re chatting with Simone Kain, author and co-founder of the George the Farmer educational enterprise. Born and raised on a farm in South Australia, Simone lives in Penola with her farmin...

This week, we’re back with Heidi Castleden from Hovell’s Creek near Boorwowa on the southern tablelands of New South Wales. In her lifetime, Heidi has been the recipient of not one but two organs, two livers, donated by strangers. These have saved her life and in turn given her the ability to start a business, get married and have a family of her own. Her story is beyond remarkable – the depths of...

Today’s guest is Heidi Castleden from Hovell’s Creek near Boorowa in southern New South Wales. On two occasions – an organ donated from a stranger – has saved her life. The first time was when she was just 15 and the second was when she was 31. At 15 years of age, after years and years of unsolved medical ailments, Heidi received a diagnosis of a rare congenital liver disease. She was told she wou...

Have you got yourself one of the new Rachel Castle Graziher Tote Bags yet? If you subscribe for 8 or more issues of Graziher magazine - you'll be gifted one of these gorgeous new bags. In fact, did you know that homewares and bedding designer Rachel Castle is a total born and bred country girl - she grew up in Sale in Victoria and still hopes that people can see a glimpse of the country girl in al...

Originally from Paris, Alienor’s heart lies in adventure. She has lived in Brazil for 18-months managing a boutique hotel, has trekked across Mongolia on horseback twice and has travelled from Siberia to Paris in a motorbike sidecar. But her most recent and all-encompassing trip was here in Australia. Passionate about advocating for the plight of the Aussie wild horse, Alienor trekked the Bicenten...

If you have a copy of the Winter edition of Graziher you’ve no doubt already met today’s guest Whitney Spicer. She’s not originally from the country but she’s young and vibrant, bubbly and creative, and she’s just the kind of women that small towns embrace because they choose to move their life and their family to the country. Whitney lives with her husband and three kids in Manildra in central we...

PHYLLi Designs is the brainchild of hat maker Laura Hall. Laura has just opened her flagship store in her hometown Scone and is one of the only traditional hat makers in Australia to have a bricks and mortar presence. Ironically, she failed textiles in high school, and is also entirely self-taught. Her hats are now rocked by the likes of Matt Damon, Delta Goodrem and Elsa Pataky. There’s hope for...

To be honest, our host Emily Herbert struggled to know where to begin when writing this intro. Tracey’s resume is incredibly impressive. She was the first female CEO of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association. She has been a vital, driving force behind the watershed class action against the Federal Government’s 2011 live export ban to Indonesia – which has won the unwinnable, with an expect...

When a monsoonal low hit Thea Harrington's farm, she and her husband Dudley sat in silence for hours, in fact days while downpour after downpour battered their tin roof – it was the stuff of nightmares - there was no communication with the outside world, and no way of moving from their home, no way to quantify the devastation. For Thea - not originally from the country - there could have been no b...

Today's guest on the Life on the Land is Edwina Robertson . If you don’t know who that is, there’s a very strong chance you’ve seen one of her photos. Eddie is a wedding photographer whose work is iconic in regional and rural Australia. The ‘queen of dust’ has been shooting weddings in the bush and across the world for eight years, some of which have gone viral globally. Eddie grew up on a mixed f...

Our guest today Mea Campbell is a lawyer by trade, who's good at making things happen and quick. Her massively successful social impact business was a daydream one day and a registered business the next. Within a year there was more 15,000 people signed up to take part, as well as schools and big business. ConnectedAU and its flagship The Letterbox Project , which is basically a pen pal project we...

Driving home from work is the first chance Ali Cooper has to take a deep breath in her day. The mum of three is part of the CC Cooper & Co family farming empire, nearly two million acres spread across six properties across NSW, South Australia and WA. If that’s not quite enough, Ali has also recently taken on Jamestown’s ‘The Park’, breathing new life into the cabins and caravan facilities. Sh...

Today’s guest is a household name in the Australian bush. It's Landline's Pip Courtney who's been gracing our TV screens for close to five decades. There have been two men in Pip's life. Her biggest mentor was her journalist father who she rarely saw, except on Saturday’s, when Pip would listen on with eager ears as he dissected the style, tone and headlines of the weekend papers. And then there w...

This episode includes conversations about Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Mental ill-health, if you or anyone you know needs someone to speak with about any of these issues you can call LifeLine on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue. This week, we’re taking you into the belly of the Graziher team and flipping the mic so to speak. Emily Herbert’s silky words have graced the pages our magazine f...

And a warning before you press play - there's a bit of sensitive language in this podcast, so make sure young ears aren’t too close by. This episode also discusses topics of mental health. If you or someone who know needs someone to speak they can call Beyond Blue they offer immediate support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1300 22 4636 When you’re 20 years old, can you remember what life was lik...

Our guest on Life on the Land this week is prolific rural fiction writer from Western Australian Fleur McDonald. In the last 12 years she’s written 18 books, the latest ‘Something to Hide’ is out this week. Long before Fleur was a writer, she was chasing the dream to be a farmer, hassling the patriarchy at every opportunity so she could build her skills and one-day own her own piece of land. She r...

From a school of the air childhood, where afternoon’s meant sticky hands from the molasses feed run in the 90’s drought to riding bikes, chasing birds and starting mini-businesses, there emerged a girl with a quite confidence landing her as a lawyer, an ag-tech innovator and an exciting new advocate with an inimitable spark, that’s hard to extinguish. Even in the wee hours of the early morning, wh...

If you haven't grown up on the land the foray into rural life is often closely followed by a the feeling of isolation, being separated from your people and different from your normal environment where everything you knew was familiar and ordered. Isolation is definitely not unique to the bush it’s a challenge that so many mothers in rural Australia have experienced. Stephanie Trethewey is one of t...

This chick, ARIA award winning Australian country music singer and song writer Fanny Lumsden is a such a legend. The energy that she gives off even via a computer screen is pretty special. Fanny is a born to be entertainer, who somehow maintains the authenticity of a girl who’s grown up on a farm, she sees the true beauty of small communities ( insert her Country Halls Tour ) in Australia and yet...

our latest guest was farmer, historian and author Maggie MacKellar who now lives in the tiny town on the east coast of Tasmania – as Maggie so beautifully told us in her interview released on Monday there’s been many bumps in her life. One thing that’s helped her process the blindsides that have beset her is writing and journalling, a discipline she does religiously each morning. Not only has it h...

In her life to-date farmer, historian and author Maggie MacKellar has navigated some of the most horrendously unexpected undertows of life. But now, in her home with her partner, in a tiny town on the east coast of Tasmania, it's their Life on the Land that’s brought her to calmer waters again. Some of you may already know Maggie’s story, she’s been on ABC TV’s Australian Story twice. The first wa...

When I’ve observed todays’ guest from afar, usually at an ag conference or the like, I feel like she’s akin to rural Australia’s version of the Queen. Always impeccably dressed. A woman of strength, who’s practical, like a farmer, in her solutions and it seems that the crowd almost parts when she enters the room. Robbie Sefton lives with her husband Alastair on a farm close to Tamworth. From town...

Georgie Robertson is a red dirt country girl from way back. Growing up on a sheep station past Ivanhoe, it was a 2.5 hour drive for the Robertson family to the nearest town. She studied via school of the air and understands the heart of country Australia because she’s lived it. She’s also one of the go-to voices for Public Relations and media communications in the bush, with a client list that inc...

There’s nothing quite like the deliciousness of merino on skin. This gorgeous natural fibre is enjoying a real renaissance, and South Australian farmer and designer, Emily Riggs is helping lead the charge with her label, Iris + Wool. She sat down to chat with Emily Herbert with her tiny daughter, Lucy – at the time only 10-weeks-old – strapped to her chest. Designed from her kitchen table on the m...

A special episode shining a light on how some of Graziher magazine's contributors (and some others) will be spending Christmas. What's on the menu, who will be there, family rituals and how to prepare for such a big event when your nearest 'big shop' is miles and miles and miles away. Many thanks to Jane Smith, Claire Mactaggart, Cara Peek, Robbie Sefton and Sophie Hansen for joining us today. Tha...