Grazing days

The hard-working crews who live and work on pastoral stations across Australia aren’t put off by adverse weather events. They get on with the tasks at hand no matter what the weather throws at them.

Story Therese Hall   Photo Andrew Hull

For the eighth edition of OUTBACK Stations magazine, 3 of the 10 stations selected had endured exceptional weather before – or during – OUTBACK’s visit. Journalist Kirsty McKenzie only just avoided becoming stranded by floodwater in central Queensland when reporting on CPC’s Isis Downs.

Kirsty and photographer Ken Brass witnessed the tight teamwork of staff as they deftly mustered 1,300 head of cattle to load onto waiting road trains before the deluge that became the state’s biggest inland flood event since 1974. “We’re under the pump right now,” manager Terrena Salt said to Kirsty as dark clouds gathered overhead. “Big rain’s coming, and we’ve got to get these cattle off.”

On the other side of the country, De Grey station in the Pilbara, WA, was hit hard by Cyclone Zelia in mid-February. When OUTBACK correspondent Ken Eastwood arrived almost 3 months later, station owner Mark Bettini was still repairing fences damaged by 800mm of rain and 190km/hour winds. “We’re still alive,” said his father John. “It’s hard when you see all the fences gone, but soon we’ll go back to mustering like we used to.”

In both cases, pastoralists welcomed OUTBACK to record life as it is lived on the land. In addition to Isis Downs and De Grey stations, the 2025 edition of OUTBACK Stations magazine features another 8 high-calibre properties dotted across the country. In every story, whether on a family-run or company-owned place, there’s a clear sense that the people involved are enjoying their work.

Staff exude purpose and satisfaction while managing sheep and cattle under huge Australian skies. Some are gap-year workers out bush for an ‘experience’, others are young ringers with an eye on a future as a station manager. On Dunluce, there’s even a self-professed “worn-out old ringer” (Michael Curr) who helps out checking waters, although he’s ‘officially’ retired. “Kylie and Jack [Stewart-Moore] are beautiful people,” Michael says of the owners. “And their children are like my grandkids.”

Every 2 years, OUTBACK Stations magazine gives readers a rare insight into the properties at the forefront of Australia’s pastoral industry and the committed people who are carving out their lives in the bush.

For a close-up look inside 10 of Australia’s premier pastoral stations, grab your copy of the 2025 edition of Stations magazine. On sale from June 19 for $15. To pre-order, call (02) 9028 5428. Also on sale in good newsagents.