IT’S time I came clean about something.
When accepting a position at Farm Weekly almost one year ago, I really didn’t know what I was in for.
You see, I don’t have a background in agriculture or didn’t grow up in the country.
Actually, I have to admit; I had never really thought too much about or even understood the agricultural industry.
Due to lack of exposure, I was quite ignorant about the industry.
Growing up in Bunbury I had never ventured further north than Joondalup, hadn’t travelled south beyond Albany and between those points, hadn’t really explored more than a couple of hours inland from the coast to very few towns.
My position at Farm Weekly gave me a wake-up call about what goes on outside of WA’s metropolitan areas.
When I was offered the opportunity to fly around the Gascoyne to visit pastoral stations with Ray White Rural WA director and pilot Simon Wilding, I was eager to see another side of the agricultural industry – one that I was yet to be exposed to.
Being able to see the pastoral country from the air was magnificent – the different contours of the ranges, the contrasting colours of the dirt and vegetation and just beautiful country as far as the eye can see.
The pastoralists I met along the way all expressed an admiration for the country on which they operate their stations.
They appreciate how the landscape changes with the seasons and from the sky I was able to gain a deeper insight into their dedication to the land.
From the exceptional world heritage area of Shark Bay on the coast, inland to the Southern Rangelands and through to the Kennedy Ranges in the Upper Gascoyne, I began to understand why pastoralists enjoy living in such remote areas of the State.
It wasn’t long until Simon and I developed some good banter with him protesting about how much I packed and having to carry it around (even though he insisted on helping) but despite all my carry-on luggage, I was always the first one out of the plane with my bags ready to go to the accommodation.
And we soon developed a good routine as captain and ‘co-pilot’ where my jobs as co-pilot were to make sure we were on the correct radio frequency and to tell Simon the heading for our flight – both simply required looking at an iPad so the responsibility wasn’t a big deal, but I’ll take credit where I can.
Before embarking on my adventure I was curious to find why someone would choose to live and work in remote corners of the State where they have limited communication and are vast distances from basic amenities and services.
Basically, I thought a life of isolation in the country would be very unappealing – why would anyone want to live so far away from everything and everyone?
Well as it turns out, pastoralists that live and work in these distant areas don’t feel a sense of loneliness because of the close relationships they have with the people they work with – whether that be family, friends, co-workers or employees.
Although many kilometres separates them from their neighbours, and it can take a couple of hours to drive to the nearest town, the distance causes stronger bonds to form within the community, so many of these small communities scattered over a vast area are very close-knit.
Isolation is seen as an advantage of station life – not for being away from other people, but for the peacefulness of the country and feeling a connection with nature.
It was fascinating to meet people, who despite the challenges, love their work and managed to re-think my perceptions of the pastoral industry – leaving me with a more informed understanding and greater appreciation of the agriculture sector as a whole.