Central Station - True Stories from Outback Australia
Episodes
Doggone Kangaroos [Short Story]
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Lara Jensen - Fighting for Christian
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Grief takes many forms — and Lara Jensen’s has crystallised into anger.Just over 20 years ago, her brother Christian’s Toyota was hit by a train...
Peter Ritter - Eyes on the sky
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A young Peter Ritter stood in the paddock of his family farm in Moree, and watched as a gigantic Hercules aircraft roared overhead. It was locked in w...
The crash of wool and birth of tourism [Short Story]
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Waddi Robinson - A lifetime in the Gascoyne
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
30 years after first working on a sheep station, Spencer Robinson finally purchased one of his own. So, in 1976 the family sold their small farm in Vi...
Glenn "Stixy" O'Byrne - From Busselton to Russia
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve all heard the stories of city girls who end up in the bush – what about a boy from the 'burbs? Glenn 'Stixy' O'Byrne hails from the sur...
Felicity Brown - Adventures from a 1990's stockcamp
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Felicity Brown is a milliner whose work has been featured at New York Fashion Week not once, but three times. Twenty years before the bright lights of...
Welcome to Wooleen [Short Story]
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Hamish & Jodie McTaggart - The catastrophic Christmas flood of 2010
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In December 2010, Jodie and Hamish McTaggart were looking forward to the chance to sit back and relax for a few days. The family property, Bidgemia St...
Introducing "Station Stickybeak"
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is the first in a new sub-series we are launching on our other Podcast (CATTLE STATION CLASSROOM) called “Station Stickybeak”, becaus...
Dave McQuie - Carbon farming on a cattle station
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Carbon Farming is a topic that been dominating the Australian media over the past several years. I don’t know about you, but even with an agricultu...
We shouldn't be here [Short Story]
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Damon Kaylock - The station cook turned Jackeroo
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode discusses mental health and suicide – listener discretion is advised. When Damon Kaylock didn’t have success in landing a job as a ja...
David Pollock (Part 2) - Dingoes, destocking, and disrupting pastoral paradigms
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is part 2 of our chat with David Pollock from Wooleen Station. Make sure you go and listen to Part 1 first, otherwise you’ll miss the c...
David Pollock (Part 1) - Dingoes, destocking, and disrupting pastoral paradigms
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wooleen Station is not your typical cattle station. And, it’s not so much Wooleen itself that’s different, but the way in which it’s managed. Wi...
PTSD in the bush [Short Story]
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Frances Pollock - Conservation and Tourism on a cattle station
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Frances travelled out to a cattle station for work experience, she didn’t think she’d still be there 15 years later. This isn’t your typica...
Dean Maughan - The dream that took "awhile"
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Picture this – a stockman riding a horse behind a mob of 1000 brahman cattle in the iconic Kimberley region of Western Australia. You’re probably ...
When it all goes wrong, call the Flying Doctor [Short Story]
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Pip Bain - Taking the long way around
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Listeners are advised that this episode discusses suicide, and may not be suitable for all audiences. The first year out of school is equally exciting...
Kristie dePledge - Never stop learning
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why would a young woman who was raised on sheep and cattle stations, go off to ag college before entering the workforce? Surely, she already had a lif...
The dream that "took awhile" [Short Story]
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episode h...
Clare Atkins - Adventures of a Stock Inspector
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, I’m sitting down with my friend and former colleague, Clare Atkins. In this episode we chat about Clare’s role as a Stock In...
Matt & Connie Wood say farewell to Blina Station
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Wood started managing Blina Station in the West Kimberley at the ripe old age of 23. In the past 13 years he has met his wife, become a father, a...
Imogen Cadzow from Mt Riddock Station [Bonus - Kids]
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At just 11 years old, Imogen Cadzow is the youngest child of Steve and Rebecca Cadzow from Mt Riddock Station, north-east of Alice Springs. In this bo...
Connie Wood - Forged in fire
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dating a co-worker can be tough. But, what about when you’re dating the boss? And the boss is a station manager, and you’re a jillaroo in the stoc...
Pip Bain attempts to interview Steph Coombes
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's that time of year again - to catch up on what our podcast host, Steph Coombes, has been up to since leaving her job and hitting the road full-tim...
My poddy calf is an asshole [Short Story]
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episode h...
Linda Evans - Riding for the brand
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When I lived in the United States, I learnt the saying 'ride for the brand'. It means to be loyal to the ranch and rancher that you work for. It me...
Darrylin Gordon - The long road to Lamboo
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lamboo Station is unlike any of the other cattle station’s we’ve spoken about on this podcast.Located just south of Halls Creek in the Kimberley ...
Lost [Short Story]
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Dr Dave Morrell - A Kimberley icon
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Morrell is a Kimberley icon. Now, he won’t like me saying that, but it’s true. Dave grew up on cattle stations between Fitzroy Crossing ...
Haydn Sale – Opportunity knocks but once
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A young man heads north straight out of school and works in the stockcamp. Over the years he progresses to head stockman, and then manager. This story...
Rain man [Short Story]
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
John Henwood - Bringing regenerative agriculture to the Kimberley
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
John & Annette Henwood owned the iconic Kimberley cattle station Fossil Downs for over 50 years. In this episode, John shares some family history,...
Ben Smith & Archie Pollard - An evening at Murray Downs Station
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Smith and Archie Pollard work on Murray Downs Station, just south of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. I recently took the 120km detour off...
Commuting [Short Story]
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
John Kirby - The man who caught 10,000 wild bulls
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
John Kirby started catching wild bulls in the East Kimberley in 1969 and by the time he stopped in 1983 he had caught approximately 10,000. However, w...
Jessie and Linda Evans - Please be SMA aware
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jessie Evans grew up on a cattle station on the Gibb River Road – infamous for being the most rough and rugged stretch of country in the Kimberley r...
Danyelle Haigh - The Outback Trendsetter
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Danyelle Haigh spends 10 months of the year living out of sea container on the back of a roadtrain with her husband and children. Together they travel...
Steve Cadzow - Doing things differently at Mt. Riddock
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you travel a couple of hours north-east of Alice Springs, along the Plenty Highway, you’ll pass one of the most spectacular parcels of land – M...
Kylie Jones - Launching a Not-For-Profit for Outback Kids
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When faced with the choice of pursuing a career in Professional Women’s Cricket or teaching, Kylie Jones’ passion for education won.Not one to do ...
Baby, can you handle the heat? [Short Story]
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
James Christian - The Sydney boy turned Territory Cattleman
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
James Christian’s childhood couldn’t have been further from that of his cousin, Sams. While Sam was growing up on a cattle station in Central Aust...
Cam Williams - The Pit and the Peake of station life
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the far north of South Australia you’ll find a number of cattle stations belonging to the William’s family, where the second, third and fourth ...
Excerpt from "Beyond Alice" [Short Story]
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. This episode features an excerp...
Jane & Haydn Sale - The aftermath of a brush with death
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The cycle of life and death amongst flora and fauna is par for the course for life in the outback.But what happens when we are faced with our own mort...
"Live" from The Fitzroy Crossing Bull Sale
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Fitzroy Crossing Bull Sale is truly a one-of-a-kind event.While Bulls Sales are a dime a dozen in the Eastern States, the Fitzroy Crossing Sale is...
New Tricks [Short Story]
18 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episode h...
Tanya Heaslip - Beyond Alice
16 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Raised on an isolated cattle station north of Alice Springs during the 1960s and 70s, Tanya learnt about the outside world through the Correspondence ...
Jim Edwards - You can take the man out of Western Australia... or can you?
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 mus...
Not that East, the "other" East [Short Story]
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
The Keogh Brothers - Kids on a cattle station
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 Qu...
Tannas Godfrey – Sliding Doors, Succession Planning and Starting Over
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 futur...
Don't dwell on the small things [Short Story]
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Sally Jolly - From beef to blueberries, a lesson in adaptability
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Hayley Price - Love, Wedding, Baby, Cancer
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Little boy in a big man's world [Short Story]
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Edwina Robertson - Picture Imperfect
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The name Edwina Robertson is synonymous with incredible imagery of people in rural Australia. In amongst being the country’s most sought after Outba...
Kirsty Williams - Don't sweat the small stuff
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Williams lives on Peake Station near Oodnadatta in South Australia. In amongst working on the station, working in town as a teacher, sharing he...
Little people, huge hearts [Short Story]
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Tony Williams - Life, love and loss on the Oodnadatta Track
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Peter Rowe - The Outback Postman (Part 2)
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Woulda, coulda, shoulda [Short Story]
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves.Find the story from this episode here...
Peter Rowe - The Outback Postman (Part 1)
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 Oodna...
Jill Greenfield - A stranger saved my life
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
A relationship survival guide for the cattle season [Short Story]
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
Col Greenfield - Life inside the Woomera Prohibited Area, and outside the Dog Fence
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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. Pastor...
Helen Kempe - The story of Ernest and John Kempe
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 Sid...
The Farmer wants a Son-In-Law [Short Story]
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episode her...
Doug McBean - What I've learnt from 30 years in a helicopter
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 m...
Abbro Woolnough - Ringer to Park Ranger, and back again
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Abbro Woolnough was born a 6th generation dairy farmer on the NSW north central coast. However, despite being surrounded by dairy cattle, he developed...
Groomzilla and the Bride Doe-banger [Short Story]
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Campbell Duff - Time to grow up
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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. I...
Rebecca Cadzow - The decision to downsize
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With two cattle stations in the Northern Territory, a cattle property in Queensland, and a helicopter business, Rebecca and Steven Cadzow were in the ...
Hard choices - lessons from a little cat [Short Story]
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Helen Kempe - The life of "Miss Helen"
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Kempe was born on Macumba Station in 1950, as the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the S Kidman and Co Pastoral empire.At the a...
Mitch Scott - It's now or never
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What would you do if you knew your life was going to change irrevocably, and there was nothing you could do to stop it?That’s the predicament Mitch ...
A rodeo proposal [Short Story]
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Frances Cooper - Something was missing
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After high school, Frances Cooper ticked all the boxes society told her to: go to university, get a great job, land a promotion, and keep climbin...
Matilda Robinson - An open chat about Mental Health
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Conversations in the agricultural and rural community pertaining to mental health generally don’t go beyond raising awareness of mental health itsel...
It takes a community [Short Story]
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Norman Fisher - The croc wrangling, buffalo breeding, cattleman
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We all know that when you work on a cattle station, you’re bound to come across creatures other than cattle.If you’re in the desert country, it mi...
Jodie Grant - Fighting Cancer on a cattle station
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Living so far from town is often one of the perks that draws people to work on a cattle station. When you live out bush you can enjoy wide open s...
180km just to check the mail [Short Story]
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Tylah Bonisch - Her first year as Head Stockwoman
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, Tylah Bonisch knew she wanted to work with cattle and horses.She didn’t travel to the north for a gap year...
Jess Di Pasquale - Equine adventures in Australia and abroad
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jess Di Pasquale is a born and bred Territory girl. Even though her childhood was colored with living on and visiting cattle stations, she went on the...
It's on [Short Story]
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Danyelle Haigh - Don't judge this book by her cover
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s be honest, we love to judge. It’s second nature to take someone at face value and make assumptions about them.In social science, this p...
Luke Hayes - Venturing off the pastoral pathway
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Luke Hayes was born a 6th generation pastoralist on Deep Well Station in Central Australia. You’d be forgiven if you assumed that Luke was planning ...
Dating in the bush - a Tinderella tale [Short Story]
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Tanya Heaslip - An Alice Girl
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tanya was raised on a cattle station north of Alice Springs during the 1960s and 1970s. The stories from her childhood sound like something out of boo...
Steph Coombes - It takes a village
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode has been inspired by Lucy Daley, who featured on Episode 52. When asked what message would she put on a billboard, she answered “N...
The Kimberley Chicken Musterer [Short Story]
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Lucy Daly - The quiet achiever
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode I’m chatting with Lucy Daley, who lives on a property called Katherine Downs in the Northern Territory. Lucy has managed to fit...
Lessons learned in the Kimberley [Short Story]
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Sarah Cook - The cost of education in remote Australia
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The government says public education will be free... but then why are so many families paying $50,000 per year on average to put their kids through pr...
A cancer diagnosis whilst pregnant [Short Story]
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Central Station [SHORT STORY] episodes bring the stories from our website to life through the authors themselves. Find the story from this episod...
Mel Bethel - The woman behind the camera
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode I’m sitting down with Mel Bethel. Chances are, you’ve seen Mel’s photography on Facebook and Instagram – she’s the woma...
Jaimie Jenkins - An unconventional pathway to the north
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode was hands down one of my all-time favourites to record.In this episode, we’re going to hear from Jaimie Jenkins, who had some unbe...