Motherland Australia
Hosted by Stephanie Trethewey. Motherland shares real, raw, and unbelievable stories of motherhood told by women on the land. Each week, a rural mum from somewhere in Australia shares her motherhood journey. You'll hear stories of true grit, resilience, grief, and pure joy. Motherhood is the most life changing and transformative journey a woman can go through, and it's not always easy. No matter where you live or what you do, we're in this together and you're not alone.
Episodes
285 episodes
270: Diann Hawkins has fostered over 100 children over the past 35 years
When Diann Hawkins saw a small ad seeking foster families, she couldn’t have known it would define the next 35 years of her life. A former nurse, bush cook, and mum of three, Diann had just farewelled her youngest to boarding school. The house ...
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48:25
269: Why Kylea Hodgkinson-Jones Swapped Life in the Navy for Life on the Land
Kylea Hodgkinson-Jones didn’t grow up on a farm - she trained as a maritime warfare officer. From life at sea to six months in Antarctica, her Navy career took her to the most extreme, isolated corners of the planet. But burnout and a medical d...
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1:02:11
268: Kath Chiverton on Love, Loss, and Preparing for Boarding School Goodbyes
When Kathleen Chiverton answered a random phone call from me one afternoon, she had no idea it would lead to this conversation. We’d only just met at Motherland’s Clermont event and I knew her story was one rural mums needed to hear. Kath grew ...
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1:03:18
267: Why Ash Napolitano wants to talk about the worst day of her life
On August 12, 2020, Ash Napolitano’s world shattered when her little boy, Hunter, drowned in a dam on a family property. Today, Ash bravely shares the story of Hunter’s life and the heartbreak of losing him, along with the trauma of that day. T...
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1:10:38
266: Christina Baehr on Raising 10 Kids Off-Grid (And becoming a bestselling author)
Christina Baehr is one of the calmest, happiest women you’ll ever meet, which is remarkable, considering she lives off-grid in Tasmania’s Huon Valley, homeschools her 10 kids (yes, 10!), runs a hostel with her husband, and somehow find...
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1:04:18
265: The axe-wielding nurse - inside Katrina Head's incredible double life
Meet Katrina Head, a nurse, mum of three, and…a competitive woodchopper who lives life at full throttle! By day, she coordinates Queensland’s Intensive Care Clinical Network. By weekend, she’s swinging axes at shows across the country alongside...
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46:21
264: Fashion designer Nikki Atkinson shares the private pain behind her merino masterpieces
Nearly two years ago, I stood on stage at Parliament House in Canberra, emceeing the National Rural Women’s Award. I wore a stunning hot pink gown, hand-dyed, made entirely from 100% Australian merino wool, and created just for me. That gown wa...
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1:01:42
263: "No warning" - Shonelle Turner on the reality of rural flood recovery
At the start of this season we dropped a bonus episode about what it was like living through the devastating floods in outback Queensland. Two months on, that devastation is still being felt. But the aftermath isn’t getting a lot of media cover...
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51:04
262: 11 years since becoming a mum, Steph Wanless has finally faced the trauma she tried to forget
Steph Wanless is the founder of FOUND Regional, a magazine in the New England area of NSW, and digital platform REGGIE, that focuses on showcasing the best of regional NSW. While ...
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1:03:49
261: How city girl turned pilot & farmer Debbie Dowden has "seized life by the throat"
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 West...
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49:33
260: Ingrid Matthews is raising a sick child 700kms from a major hospital
Ingrid Matthews and her husband manage 4 beef cattle stations in Northwestern Queensland. They also have 4 kids, aged 12, 10, 7 and 6. But Ingrid and her youngest daughter Olivia have spent 6 weeks maximum at home over the last 15 months. Olivi...
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54:34
259: Into the wild- Dr Rebecca West is raising kids & savings animals in the desert
Dr Rebecca West grew up in England—far from red dirt, heatwaves, and the howls of wild animals echoing through desert nights. She never imagined that by 40, she’d be raising three young children on one of the most remote properties in New South...
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59:08
258: Nicky Prosser is lapping up station life while preparing for a possible lung and heart transplant
Nicky Prosser lives on a station in the middle of South Australia that spans 1.2 million acres. She’s spent a lot of her life travelling around the state working in remote areas as a teacher and a principal. When Nicky was living in Maree, she ...
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53:47
257: From drought, to depression & rage - a candid conversation with Steph Schmidt
Steph is a farmer, psychologist, and mum of three little boys who lives on a property in Worlds End, in South Australia. And right now, it kind of looks like the Worlds End is near because the state is in the midst of a horrific drought. Two we...
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54:38
256: Queen of the jungle & netball superstar Liz Ellis on fame, farming & fertility
When I say the name Liz Ellis, you probably think one of three things:One of the greatest Netballers our country has ever seen A very funny media commentatorThe winner of I’m A Celebrity Get Me out of here a f...
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58:26
QLD FLOODS- 255: Shona Underwood's extraordinary story as the crisis continues
Outback Queensland is in crisis. An area more than double the size of Victoria has been hit by devastating floods not seen in 50 years. Properties have been inundated, More than 150,000 livestock have perished, with the death toll rising. Farme...
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1:01:02
254: While trying to conceive at 31, Em Armstrong was told she was in perimenopause
Em Armstrong is a glass half full kind of person. She’s one of those people who oozes positivity, you can see it on her socials, and hear it in her voice. Growing up in New South Wales’ Riverina district on a sheep grazing property, Em has alwa...
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1:04:08
253: Rosie Clements is the only permanent GP in a remote part of QLD
After Rosie Clements spent her gap year as a Jillaroo in the Northern Territory she knew she wanted a career that would enable her to help people in the bush. After starting degrees in law and teaching, Rosie finally landed on the right one for...
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59:02
252: The heart-warming tale of how Phoebe White inherited a mountain
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 ye...
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44:55
251: Sonja Chrystal on growing up with a paraplegic farming dad, no mum, & surviving PNDA
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 g...
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1:12:02
BONUS ep: Elise Petty wants to make life easier for rural Australians
From very early on in her career, Elise Petty was a go getter who wanted to make life better for rural people, no matter what role she was in. From working as Telstra Country Life’s General Manager in Armidale NSW, to being a Senior Advisor in ...
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46:18
250: The incredible untold story of Landline boss Cathie Schnitzerling
When you google Cathie Schnitzerling, you’ll be met with some remarkable career statistics. Not only was she Landline’s first-ever presenter in 1991 and the current Executive Producer of the show, but she is also an award-winning writer, produc...
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58:01
249: 3 Million Acres & 3 Kids: Connie Wood’s station life in the Territory
Connie Wood, her husband Matt and their 3 kids manage Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory. A property that spans 3 million acres and is a 5 hour drive away from the closest big town, Katherine. And the realities of living on a remote st...
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1:03:39
248: Cindy Banks gave birth to two sets of twins in under two years
Cindy Banks always thought she’d have two kids. She grew up in a two-child household. Her husband grew up in a two-kid household. Two kids was just the norm. Plus, when you live on a remote station in Queensland, 135km northwest of Cunnamulla, ...
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50:15
247: “I had to get something positive out of such a great loss” - Hannah Speers’ story
Hannah Speers was standing on a stage speaking when I first heard her story, and I knew instantly that I wanted to invite her onto the show. When Hannah met her husband Joe in Tumut near the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, she didn’t think ...
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55:47