Motherland Australia

Katie Craig thought she knew what motherhood might look like. She and her husband Lachy were building a life together in Biloela, Central Queensland, and after years of worrying endometriosis might affect fertility, they were overjoyed to be expecting their little boy, Dougy. But at just 27 weeks pregnant, Katie went into labour. Dougy weighed only 1.1 kilograms at birth, and Katie was then separated from him for the first seven days of his life after testing positive to COVID. What followed was months in NICU, brain surgery, hearing loss investigations, and years navigating medical trauma in rural Australia. Then, just...

You might know Lottie Rae from Australian Survivor. Or from Portrait Artist of the Year, where she painted Ken Done. Or maybe from the time Gigi Hadid slid into her DMs and bought one of her paintings for Bella. Perhaps you follow her art online or listen to her podcast.  But behind the art, the TV appearances and the wild stories, is a deeper side to Lottie you’ve probably never heard before. Until now. 

Lottie was just 22 when she unexpectedly fell pregnant with her eldest son, two days before she was due to leave for Europe. What...

Nikki Lyons didn’t grow up on the land. She was raised in Western Australia, and only discovered agriculture as a teenager. But by 17, she’d bought her first shearing kit and started chasing work in sheds across the country. More than 20 years later, Nikki is a mum of four living in Yass, NSW, and one of Australia’s most remarkable shearers. In 2024, she set a women’s world record by shearing 395 merino lambs in eight hours. Then in 2025, she made an additional record by shearing 502 merinos in nine hours. After taking almost a decade away from shearing to raise he...

Cailyn Muntelwit grew up on cattle properties across Central Queensland in a loving but emotionally unstable home, navigating school, undiagnosed neurodivergence, and a brain that never switched off. At 19, she met her partner Frank in the stock camp, and by 27 they were starting a family of their own. But motherhood hit hard. With ADHD, a child navigating ADHD and autism, and a partner working away for months at a time, those early years became more about survival than balance. In this episode, Cailyn shares how she’s learning to break generational patterns, parent differently, and build a life that wo...

Not long ago, Alison Gossage made a decision that some rural women quietly face… but rarely talk about. She left the land. Ali is a mum of two, who was living and working on a farm in Esperance, WA, building a life in agriculture alongside her husband, raising babies in the bush, and doing everything she could to hold it all together. But behind the scenes… things were not okay. What started as the everyday juggle of motherhood - two under two, long days alone, limited support - slowly became something much heavier. Something that Ali didn’t recognise at fir...

Ellen Fitzgerald is a mum of three living on a cattle property northwest of Longreach. Like so many rural mothers, her days are full… raising children, running a business, and building a life on the land alongside her husband. But recently, Ellen has found herself in a position she never expected… becoming an accidental advocate for rural families. Right now, Ellen’s family  (like many in remote areas) is facing the very real possibility of losing the in-home childcare they rely on, with current support systems not extending to families in her situation, making it increasingly unaffordable. I invited Ellen o...

Last month, rural mum of two Courtney Moir was crowned the winner of Muster Dogs Season Four. But there’s a lot more to her story than what you saw on TV, and today she shares all of it publicly for the first time. From working in banking, to swiping right on a farmer, to moving to a remote property just weeks before becoming a mum — it was a lot of change, all at once. What followed was a period of anxiety and isolation and it wasn’t until Courtney found something just for herself… that things began to shift. D...

Rachel Bjelke-Petersen spent her childhood weekends travelling Queensland’s campdraft circuit with her dad. While horses, cattle and red dirt were always part of her, life took her in many directions — but something was always missing.After spinal surgery in her mid-20s, her goal was simple: get back on a horse… and she did exactly that. In 2022, she packed up and drove 1,100 kilometres west, where she says she’d never felt more at home. Then one unexpected moment changed everything… hitting a pothole and meeting her future husband! Within months, Rachel had stepped into life on Christian’s fourth-gener...

Tahnee McCarthy is a paediatric physiotherapist, mum of two, and stepmum to one living outside Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. The life she’s building with her young family has been shaped by extraordinary challenges. After the traumatic birth of her first baby and undiagnosed postnatal depression, Tahnee was navigating early motherhood when her husband Aaron was involved in a catastrophic farming accident that changed everything. Aaron lost his leg that day — but somehow saved his own life. What followed was a journey neither of them expected. While Aaron channelled his recovery into becoming a Paralympic snowboarder, Tahnee bega...

Michelle Hamilton lives on a farm in Central Queensland with her husband Pete and son Wiley. Growing up on the land, she thought she was ready for rural life — but motherhood brought challenges she never saw coming including post natal depression. But Michelle’s turning point came unexpectedly at a local agricultural show, where she encountered alpacas! What began as a simple encounter grew into something much bigger. Breeding alpacas and growing her business helped Michelle rediscover purpose, energy and connection, and re-engage with motherhood, her family and herself. Then a near-fatal farming accident involving her husband forced their fami...

Vanessa Bell has lived many lives in one. Discovered at just 15, she was launched into high fashion — travelling the globe and shooting for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. But behind the glamour came grit. A chapter marked by domestic violence, sleeping in her car, and temporarily losing her sight from stress forced Vanessa to rebuild from the ground up. It was through knitting that she began to heal. In a full-circle moment, that same fibre now sits at the heart of her life. Today, Vanessa is a Merino wool grower in the New England high country, a stepmum to thre...

Kimberly is a psychologist and mum from Moranbah, Queensland. Five years ago, her world was shattered when she lost her 13-year-old son, Ethan, just nine weeks after a leukemia diagnosis. Ethan was a talented young footballer, signed to the Broncos’ elite development squad — strong, determined and full of life. And then, in a matter of weeks, everything changed. In this episode, Kimberly shares those unimaginable months… from the first signs something wasn’t right to a Christmas Day hospital visit that turned their world upside down. But this conversation isn’t only about loss. In her grief, Kimberly saw how little...

Prue McCormack is a sixth-generation cattle farmer in the Hunter Valley, NSW, a vet, and a mum of two. When her son Jock was three, Prue and her husband began noticing developmental delays. What followed were long waitlists, countless appointments, and eventually a diagnosis of autism and ADHD. In this episode, Prue shares the shock, grief and guilt that came with that moment — along with the fierce love that drives her motherhood. She speaks candidly about meltdowns, public judgment, rural healthcare gaps, and the toll it’s taken on her nervous system. But she also shares the beauty — the streng...

Laura Wilson lives in Quilpie in far western Queensland, where she and her partner Jake are raising six children under the age of ten. Yes, six! A registered nurse by background, Laura always knew she wanted to be a mum. What she maybe didn’t plan on was becoming a mother at 24, growing her family quickly, and spending long stretches solo parenting while Jake built their trucking business. She’s birthed babies hundreds of kilometres from home, and in one case, delivered one of her sons herself. In this conversation, we talk about big families, remote healthcare, and why Laur...

Today I’m thrilled to bring you a bonus episode with Kylie Lindsay, Head of nbn Local in Queensland, for a powerful conversation about leadership, motherhood, mental health, and regional connectivity. Kylie shares her journey from growing up in Townsville to working in high-pressure politics, navigating anxiety, and becoming a mum to her son Archie just before turning 40. We talk about what it’s really like returning to work after having a baby, why flexible workplaces matter, and how leadership can look different after motherhood. Kylie also opens up about separation and life as a solo mum and why she...

Today's episode is one of the most raw and important conversations I’ve ever shared. Corrina Rawlinson is a rural mum from Esperance, WA — a businesswoman and straight shooter, bravely telling the truth about what motherhood and mental illness can look like behind closed doors. She shares growing up in small rural communities, carrying childhood trauma into adulthood, pushing through while keeping everyone else afloat — until she reached breaking point. Corrina speaks openly about being admitted to a psychiatric hospital and what it took to come back from the darkest place. This is a conversation about survival and hope — proof th...

Rachael Kirby’s version of motherhood looks nothing like it did a year ago. After growing up in rural central NSW and meeting her husband in the shearing sheds out west, she’s now raising three young kids (with a fourth on the way) while living full-time in a caravan on the shearing circuit. Her husband is a shearer, Rach is a shearer’s cook, and together they juggle work, marriage, parenting and life in the bush—side by side, every day. This isn’t just a story about life on the road, but about burnout, bravery, and choosing time over...

Today's episode is a story of love, unimaginable loss, betrayal, and deep, hard-won hope. Belinda Viver’s daughter Adelaide tapped me on the shoulder at a Motherland event last year and said, “You need to speak to my mum.” She was right. Belinda grew up on the land, built a full life with her husband Jack, and raised three daughters until everything changed in July 2020, when Jack died suddenly. What followed was a cascade of heartbreak: multiple family losses, shock, grief, and a betrayal that turned her world upside down and forced her to question everything she thought she knew...

Debbie Dowden arrived in Australia by boat when she was just 3 years old. Her family were ‘10 pound poms’ in search of a sunnier life in Australia. Little did she know that life would see her raising 4 children 600kms from Perth in Outback Western Australia. Debbie was working as a theory instructor at a flight school when she decided that she actually wanted to fly the planes, not just teach people about them. It was here that she met her husband Ash- and she approached her relationship with Ash the same way she did with learning to fly, getting out of h...

Weeks before Sonja Chrystal was born, her father was in a farming accident and became a paraplegic. Months after she was born, her mother packed her bags and left her paralysed husband and two little girls, and never returned. Her dad and her grandparents raised Sonja and her sister on a cropping and grazing property in the central west of NSW before Sonja found herself living and working in Sydney as a graphic designer. It was there that she met her fiance Jeremy, and the father of her son, Herbie, who just turned one. After her dad passed away...

When I say the name Liz Ellis, you probably think one of three things:

What you probably don’t think of is Liz Ellis the farmer. Liz, her husband of 25 years, Matthew, and their two children live on a farm in between Lismore, Ballina and Byron Bay growing beef cattle. Liz and Matthew bought the land 14 years ago when their professional sporting careers came to an end, Matth...

Phoebe White has had a lot of titles and lived in a lot of places in her 35 years. She’s been a PE Teacher in Sydney. A Fashion stylist in London. A High-profile real estate agent in Miami. But it’s the two she’s been given in the past eight years that light up her life, and have brought her home. The first is being a mum to her two daughters Camilla and Olympia, and the second, is being the custodian of a Mountain near her family’s property outside of Scone, NSW. Phoebe’s family have been farmers fo...

At 56, Louise Taheny has lived a very big life. The twists and turns and setbacks have truly made her who she is today; a very remarkable woman, as you’re about to hear. Louise was born and raised in regional South Australia, and met her husband John, a farmer, in her early 20s. They knew they wanted a big family. First came Edwina, then Tom, Lucy, Will and then, their youngest, Hugo. After five children in six years, when Hugo was born, Louise knew instantly that things weren’t the same as her other babies. A few days after his...

Whitney Spicer always dreamed of becoming a mum. What she didn’t expect was that a few sample pots of Bunnings paint would change the course of her life. While raising her babies, Whitney picked up a paintbrush again — and it grew into a thriving art career that now helps support her family. But behind the success is a huge identity shift: going from stay-at-home to the primary breadwinner, navigating guilt, grief, pressure and the constant juggle between creating and mothering. In this episode, Whitney opens up about her why, the lessons she wants to show her kids, and the...

Amanda Ferrari grew up in Sydney with no ties to agriculture, yet felt an undeniable pull to the bush. That path took her from nannying and ag college nights, to Warren, Trangie, the cotton industry, and eventually to a life with her husband, Ross. Motherhood began with a shock—discovering she was pregnant with twins during a “friends with benefits” chapter. Premature labour, weeks in hospital, a traumatic birth, and deep loneliness shaped her early years of parenting. Later, the arrival of her son Ollie brought her darkest mental health battle yet. Today, Amanda channels her strength and honesty into s...

What happens when the life you built falls apart? Sarah Henney moved to Longreach for love, leaving behind her Gold Coast life to build something new. But years of IVF, raising two little boys and feeling the weight of holding everything together slowly began to take a toll…not just on Sarah, but on her marriage. As the isolation deepened and her marriage broke down, Sarah was forced to rebuild. Now, from the coastal town of Yeppoon, she’s raising her boys and running Outback Linen Co, redefining what happiness and home looks like, on her own terms. This is h...

Kelly Johnson lives a purposeful life running a heartfelt food-waste enterprise from her houseboat on the Murray River. But the road here has been anything but smooth. As a mum to identical twins with autism and a youngest son who survived BECAUSE of a medical mistake, Kelly’s early motherhood years were filled with illness, and deep exhaustion… including one incredibly dark moment she’s bravely chosen to share. Through every challenge, Kelly rebuilt, adapted, and found strength. Now, that same determination powers her mission to turn unwanted produce into wholesome meals that give back to farmers. This is her st...

Demi Crooks always wanted to be a Mum. But she never knew that her journey into Motherhood would be so challenging nor that it would threaten to take her life. After two gruelling rounds of IVF - Demi successfully conceived her first son River.  It was a mentally and physically challenging three years - Demi thought the worst was over but the journey was just beginning. After River was born, Demi developed what Doctors called the ‘worst case of Mastitis they’d seen in 25 years.’ It left her literally fighting for her life for 16 days in hospital as she develop...

When Jenny Lutz became a mum at 22, she had no idea how profoundly her world was about to change. After a traumatic birth and months of sleepless nights, her baby boy Greg cried constantly, struggled to feed, and couldn’t be soothed. Living rurally in Queensland, Jenny faced exhaustion, isolation, and heartbreak, navigating early motherhood with no answers and little support. It wasn’t until Greg was 11 that she finally received the diagnosis she’d spent years searching for: autism. In a time when few in rural Australia even knew what that meant, Jenny’s fierce determination to understand and advo...

From a childhood spent building fences and mustering cattle on her family’s remote Northern Territory station, to life in a Swiss city where she could see France from her balcony, Megan Holzwart’s story is one of grit, adventure, and deep reflection on motherhood. After years abroad, she’s now back in the bush, raising two young kids in Katherine and running KICS- the Katherine Isolated Children's Service, a remote, mobile playgroup for socially and geographically isolated children and families. Today, Megan shares her incredible journey - from the challenges of birthing a breech baby in a foreign countr...

Before she was known as The Jungle Doctor, travelling the world as a wildlife vet, dehorning rhinos in South Africa and fitting elephants with prosthetics, Dr Chloe Buiting was a barefoot kid in the bush on Lord Howe Island. That tiny island sparked her lifelong fascination with the natural world and taught her what it means to belong...to live close to nature and be shaped by it. Today, Chloe is a conservationist and mother of two on Kangaroo Island, splitting her year between global work with Fauna & Flora International and the Earthshot Prize, and hands-on fieldwork across Africa...

Once upon a time, in the small farming town of Finley in southern New South Wales, there was a boy who spent his afternoons chasing footies across dusty paddocks and helping his parents on the land. That boy grew up to be one of the greatest AFL forwards the game has ever seen. Today, I chat with three-time premiership player, father of three and Geelong legend, Tom Hawkins. As you’ll hear, for Tom, life was never just about football. It was about family. About home. About the kind of hard work that doesn’t end when the whistle blow...

Claire Brett’s story begins in a country pub on the NSW/QLD border — a lively, dusty place where everyone knew your name. But after losing her dad at just five, grief became a quiet thread through her life. Years later, on a farm in Kentucky, NSW, Claire and her husband Jake built a life together and welcomed their first child... until pregnancy loss changed everything. While trying for her second baby, Claire endured five miscarriages in a row, each one testing her strength, faith, and identity. In this episode, she opens up about love, loss, and finding meaning agai...

What does it really mean to do the work before becoming a dad? For today's guest, Queensland farmer Dave Woods, fatherhood wasn’t something he wanted to just stumble into.  He wanted to be prepared. So, long before he and his wife Alice welcomed their three children, Dave confronted his own mental health struggles head-on, determined to build the kind of stability he hoped his kids would grow up with. In this conversation, Dave opens up about growing up on his family’s farm, the pressures of succession, and the often-silent battles rural men face.  He talks candidly about depres...

When journalist Virginia Tapscott became a mum, she thought she’d be back at work within six months. But motherhood had other plans. Raised on a cattle and cropping farm near Narrabri, Virginia had built a career telling stories that mattered, first in the city and later back in the bush she loved. But once she became a mother, life on the farm with young children gave her a front-row seat to the invisible labour of care. Balancing paid work with childcare drop-offs, she realised what society calls “work” often overlooks the unseen labour mothers do at home — the sleeples...

What does it mean to be a good man in the bush? For Matthew Tonkin, the answer has transformed over time. Growing up the youngest of five on his family’s farm near the NSW–Queensland border, Matthew believed a man’s worth was in hard work and providing for his family. But as farm debt and expectations mounted, he equated strength with silence—a silence that led to drinking, despair, and darkness. Seven years sober, Matthew now speaks openly about vulnerability, self-respect, and caring for yourself so you can care for others. As a father of four, grandfather, and lead...

12 years ago, Piers Dumaresq walked away from the high-flying world of Sydney wealth management, to return home to the family farm in Tasmania with his future wife. On paper, it looked like a tree-change success story: a 200-year-old family farm, marriage, two children, and a future firmly rooted in the soil.  But behind the original stone buildings of Mount Ireh, life wasn’t as simple on the family front.  Piers’s marriage ended when his children were still little, and in the aftermath he found himself confronting not just the realities of co-parenting and running a farm, but the deeper...

Tick Everett is a man who never imagined he’d be the face of a national movement. For decades, he worked the land, raised his daughters, and built a life around family and farming. But in January 2018, that life changed forever. At just 14, Tick’s youngest daughter, Dolly, died by suicide after an extended period of bullying and cyberbullying. Soon after, Tick and his wife Kate launched Dolly’s Dream. Today's episode isn’t the story you’ve heard before. With honesty and vulnerability, he opens up in ways he never has before about love, loss, and what it means to k...

12 years ago on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, three farmers looked in the mirror and didn’t like what they saw. So they founded Fat Farmers, a grassroots movement now inspiring rural communities to get moving, check in on each other, and quietly save lives. One of the founders is Ben Wundersitz, a fifth-generation farmer from Maitland, SA — a state still crippled by drought. Ben shares how those first awkward workouts grew into 35 groups nationwide, the mental health conversations that happen between reps, and what fatherhood means to him after raising two kids with his high-school sweetheart, Belinda. Last month...

When Renae Black stepped into her second maternity leave, she was in the thick of postnatal anxiety and overwhelm. Instead of letting it swallow her, she opened her laptop and set herself a challenge: write a book before going back to work. By the time she returned to the office, she had four manuscripts under her belt! Raised on a farm north of Wagga, Renae’s childhood was full of cattle, dogs, snakes and even the occasional ostrich. That sense of small-town grit and community never left her, and now, in Queensland’s Moreton Bay, she balances life as a mu...