A governess meets a handsome jackeroo, they fall in love and move onto the family station. It sounds like a fairytale, or perhaps a Mills & Boon novel, but for Raelene Hall, it wasn’t quite that simple.

For over 40 years, she’s carried a quiet feeling that she didn’t quite belong. That she somehow didn’t measure up to who and what a station owners wife should be. That she wasn’t a legitimate bush woman.

This is a story about finding her voice, finding her place, and, eventually, learning to back herself.

This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

A governess meets a handsome jackeroo, they fall in love and move onto the family station. It sounds like a fairytale, or perhaps a Mills &amp; Boon novel, but for Raelene Hall, it wasn&rsquo;t quite that simple.
For over 40 years, she&rsquo;s carried a quiet feeling that she didn&rsquo;t quite belong. That she somehow didn&rsquo;t measure up to who and what a station owners wife should be. That she wasn&rsquo;t a legitimate bush woman.
This is a story about finding her voice, finding her place, and, eventually, learning to back herself.
<hr>
This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

True stories from the Australian Outback, told by the people who live them. Meet the men and women who live and work on some of Australia’s most remote cattle stations. There are tales of mustering, stock camps, working dogs, rogue cattle and hard bloody yakka, but also the fun of a bush wedding or kicking back at a rodeo. There’s the simple wonder of living in an amazing landscape, but also the downside: the ravages of flood, fire and drought. And always there’s the inherent danger of isolation – times when the Flying Doctor came to the rescue, but also times when lives have been tragically cut short. These compelling true-life stories show what outback life is really like – and why many wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Donate to the Show: https://www.centralstation.net.au/donate/

True stories from the Australian Outback, told by the people who live them. Meet the men and women who live and work on some of Australia&rsquo;s most remote cattle stations. There are tales of mustering, stock camps, working dogs, rogue cattle and hard bloody yakka, but also the fun of a bush wedding or kicking back at a rodeo. There&rsquo;s the simple wonder of living in an amazing landscape, but also the downside: the ravages of flood, fire and drought. And always there&rsquo;s the inherent danger of isolation &ndash; times when the Flying Doctor came to the rescue, but also times when lives have been tragically cut short. These compelling true-life stories show what outback life is really like &ndash; and why many wouldn&rsquo;t live anywhere else.
Donate to the Show: <a href="https://www.centralstation.net.au/product/donate/">https://www.centralstation.net.au/donate/</a>

Central Station - True Stories from Outback Australia

Raelene Hall - A legitimate bush woman

In 1929, the Foulkes-Taylor family purchased Yuin Station in Western Australia's Southern Murchison. Nearly a century later, the property remains in family hands—a remarkable achievement in an industry where the only constant has been change.

Over almost 100 years, Yuin has weathered droughts, floods, wild dogs, government policy and shifting markets. The family has adapted from wool to meat sheep, embraced new technologies that transformed everything from communication to mustering, and continually evolved the way they care for both livestock and the landscape. Pastoralism today looks vastly different to what it did when the Foulkes-Taylors first arrived.

In this episode, Rossco Foulkes-Taylor reflects on the generations who came before him, sharing family stories and m emories that have been passed down through the decades. We also explore the challenges and decisions that have shaped more recent years, the lessons learned from nearly a century on the land, and what the future might hold for both Yuin Station and the next generation of the Foulkes-Taylor family.

This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

In 1929, the Foulkes-Taylor family purchased Yuin Station in Western Australia's Southern Murchison. Nearly a century later, the property remains in family hands&mdash;a remarkable achievement in an industry where the only constant has been change.
Over almost 100 years, Yuin has weathered droughts, floods, wild dogs, government policy and shifting markets. The family has adapted from wool to meat sheep, embraced new technologies that transformed everything from communication to mustering, and continually evolved the way they care for both livestock and the landscape. Pastoralism today looks vastly different to what it did when the Foulkes-Taylors first arrived.
In this episode, Rossco Foulkes-Taylor reflects on the generations who came before him, sharing family stories and m emories that have been passed down through the decades. We also explore the challenges and decisions that have shaped more recent years, the lessons learned from nearly a century on the land, and what the future might hold for both Yuin Station and the next generation of the Foulkes-Taylor family.
<hr>
This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

Rossco Foulkes-Taylor - 100 years of Yuin

Addressing the United Nations about women in pastoralism is a long way from day-to-day life on a station in the Southern Rangelands of Western Australia. But that’s exactly where Debbie Dowden has found herself — one of three women from around the world invited to take the stage in Mongolia and share her perspective on pastoralism.

We first heard from Debbie on the podcast back in 2022. Since then, Debbie and her husband have made the difficult decision to sell Challa Station, bringing more than 130 years of family ownership to an end. But leaving the station hasn’t meant leaving pastoralism behind. In this episode, we talk about Debbie’s involvement in the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, what’s happened with wild dogs since we last spoke, and the book she’s written about her experiences on the land.

This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

Addressing the United Nations about women in pastoralism is a long way from day-to-day life on a station in the Southern Rangelands of Western Australia. But that&rsquo;s exactly where Debbie Dowden has found herself &mdash; one of three women from around the world invited to take the stage in Mongolia and share her perspective on pastoralism.
We first heard from Debbie on the podcast back in 2022. Since then, Debbie and her husband have made the difficult decision to sell Challa Station, bringing more than 130 years of family ownership to an end. But leaving the station hasn&rsquo;t meant leaving pastoralism behind. In this episode, we talk about Debbie&rsquo;s involvement in the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, what&rsquo;s happened with wild dogs since we last spoke, and the book she&rsquo;s written about her experiences on the land.
<hr>
This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

Debbie Dowden - From Challa Station to the United Nations

In recent episodes, we’ve heard from women who have spent decades on stations, carrying with them generations of family history and a lifetime of knowledge about the rangelands. This episode is a little different.

Sisters Jasmine and Codie Henville are new to the game. In 2025, their family traded the familiar for the unknown, purchasing Cunyu Station near Wiluna. Overnight, they went from being fourth-generation farmers to first-generation pastoralists. They're not drawing on generations of station knowledge—they're building it from the ground up, one lesson at a time.

This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

In recent episodes, we&rsquo;ve heard from women who have spent decades on stations, carrying with them generations of family history and a lifetime of knowledge about the rangelands. This episode is a little different.
Sisters Jasmine and Codie Henville are new to the game. In 2025, their family traded the familiar for the unknown, purchasing Cunyu Station near Wiluna. Overnight, they went from being fourth-generation farmers to first-generation pastoralists. They're not drawing on generations of station knowledge&mdash;they're building it from the ground up, one lesson at a time.
<hr>
This episode is proudly brought to you by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists West Australian committee, in partnership with the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and Regional Development Australia Midwest and Gascoyne.

Raelene Hall - A legitimate bush woman

Central Station - True Stories from Outback Australia

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