3h ago

Father Land S2E3: John Murdoch on reaching breaking point, fatherhood & life after the fires

John Murdoch likens people to rubber bands. You can only stretch them so far. And for him, the breaking point came during the drought and bushfires of 2019 and 2020. Years earlier, he’d left a career in accounting to return to the family farm in the Monaro region of New South Wales. He wanted to work alongside his dad, and build a future with his wife, Kate. Now, he was feeding livestock through drought, helping his parents through their separation, and raising a young family of his own. He felt needed everywhere. Then, in the middle of it all, his second daughter arrived five weeks early via emergency caesarean. The rubber band didn’t just snap. In John’s words, it “disintegrated into dust.” Now a father of three girls, he shares what it took to find his way through, the joy and guilt of being a farming dad, and how he’s learning to manage the anxiety he’s carried since childhood, while farming without the father he came home to work beside. Beyond Blue Mental Health Counselling: 1300 22 4636, 24 hours / 7 days a week Father Land is proudly supported by Nutrien Ag Solutions, going further for Australian farmers. From farm supplies and agronomy advice to livestock and finance, Nutrien’s local specialists combine local know-how with the backing of one of Australia’s largest agricultural networks. Find your local branch at nutrien.com.au and see how Nutrien can go further for your farm.

Sep 10

Father Land S2E2: Charlie Arnott on family legacy, finding himself & his extraordinary path to fatherhood

Charlie Arnott’s great-great-great-grandfather founded Arnott’s Biscuits. His grandfather helped create the Tim Tam. And Charlie became the first in five generations to forge a different path. At just 25, he unexpectedly took over his family’s farm near Boorowa in New South Wales. But behind Charlie’s life on the land is a deeply personal journey of figuring out who he is, what makes him happy, and the kind of man, husband and father he wants to be. Today, Charlie opens up about the beliefs he carried from childhood, the inner work that followed, and how it’s shaped his approach to mental health, marriage and fatherhood. He first became a stepfather before he and his wife Angelica went through IVF to welcome their daughter. Years later, their son was being carried by a surrogate in California when they received a call: their baby was arriving two months early, just as a bushfire erupted near the hospital. From an extraordinary family legacy to finding his own identity, this is his story. Father Land is proudly supported by Nutrien Ag Solutions, going further for Australian farmers. From farm supplies and agronomy advice to livestock and finance, Nutrien’s local specialists combine local know-how with the backing of one of Australia’s largest agricultural networks. Find your local branch at nutrien.com.au and see how Nutrien can go further for your farm.

Sep 3

Father Land S2E1: Brendan Cullen on Facing His Demons, Fatherhood and the Swim of His Life

Brendan Cullen lived 600 kilometres from the nearest beach when he decided to become an open-water swimmer. Training before dawn in lakes and dams, he went on to swim the English Channel in 2022 - spending 17 hours in the water and covering 64 kilometres. But Brendan will tell you that wasn’t the hardest thing he’s ever done. A lifelong sheep and cattle farmer from Broken Hill, Brendan spent decades carrying childhood trauma he didn’t speak about. In 2015, struggling with depression, he walked into Broken Hill Base Hospital and said: “I need help.” It changed his life - and the kind of husband and father he was able to become. In this deeply personal conversation, Brendan opens up about parts of his story he hasn’t spoken about in this way before - including how farming, trauma and mental health has shaped his experience of fatherhood, and what asking for help gave back to him and his family. This episode features conversations about mental health and depression. If you need help, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 Father Land is proudly supported by Nutrien Ag Solutions, going further for Australian farmers. From farm supplies and agronomy advice to livestock and finance, Nutrien’s local specialists combine local know-how with the backing of one of Australia’s largest agricultural networks. Find your local branch at nutrien.com.au and see how Nutrien can go further for your farm.

Season 1 Trailer

Introducing Father Land: A special series by Motherland

After nearly six years of sharing the stories of rural mums, national charity Motherland was surprised no one had done the same for rural dads. Father Land is Australia’s first podcast dedicated to fathers on the land—a bold platform giving rural dads a voice. Hosted by award-winning entrepreneur, journalist, and rural mum Stephanie Trethewey, Father Land is a space for unfiltered conversations about fatherhood, identity, and mental health in the bush. Each episode dives into the messy, meaningful realities of life on the land—the wins, the losses, the laughs, and the moments that hit hard. With humour, heart, and honesty, we challenge outdated stoicism and celebrate the courage it takes to be honest. Because vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s part of being a bloody good dad.

11/16/2025

Father Land #8: AFL Legend Tom Hawkins on Grief, Footy, Farming and Fatherhood

Once upon a time, in the small farming town of Finley in southern New South Wales, there was a boy who spent his afternoons chasing footies across dusty paddocks and helping his parents on the land. That boy grew up to be one of the greatest AFL forwards the game has ever seen. Today, I chat with three-time premiership player, father of three and Geelong legend, Tom Hawkins. As you’ll hear, for Tom, life was never just about football. It was about family. About home. About the kind of hard work that doesn’t end when the whistle blows. After 17 seasons, in 2024, Tom retired from professional AFL. He traded the stadium lights for sunrises over the paddocks - raising three kids with his wife Emma, catching calves instead of taking marks, and rediscovering what it means to be grounded. These days, he’s building a new chapter with Nutrien Ag Solutions, working closely with farmers across Victoria while running a small cattle property of his own. In this rare conversation, Tom opens up about it all. The highs and lows of his career, the grief of losing his mum too young, the guilt that comes with missing moments as a dad, and the quiet joy of finding purpose again…this time, on the land.

11/16/2025

Father Land #7: Facing Himself First: Dave Woods on Fatherhood & Challenging our Approach to Mental Health in the Bush

What does it really mean to do the work before becoming a dad? For today's guest, Queensland farmer Dave Woods, fatherhood wasn’t something he wanted to just stumble into. He wanted to be prepared. So, long before he and his wife Alice welcomed their three children, Dave confronted his own mental health struggles head-on, determined to build the kind of stability he hoped his kids would grow up with. In this conversation, Dave opens up about growing up on his family’s farm, the pressures of succession, and the often-silent battles rural men face. He talks candidly about depression, ego, and the culture of stoicism in the bush - and how alternative approaches gave him the tools to change his life. It’s this work that led him to become a 2025 Nuffield Scholar, focusing his research on why, despite increasing investment, rural Australia’s mental health challenges are not improving. His story is one of courage, challenging the status quo, and what it takes to become the kind of father you always hoped you’d be.

11/16/2025

Father Land #6: Sobriety, Vulnerability & Masculinity on the Land with Matthew Tonkin

What does it mean to be a good man in the bush? For Matthew Tonkin, the answer has transformed over time. Growing up the youngest of five on his family’s farm near the NSW–Queensland border, Matthew believed a man’s worth was in hard work and providing for his family. But as farm debt and expectations mounted, he equated strength with silence—a silence that led to drinking, despair, and darkness. Seven years sober, Matthew now speaks openly about vulnerability, self-respect, and caring for yourself so you can care for others. As a father of four, grandfather, and leader in agriculture, he’s found a new kind of strength rooted in compassion, discipline, and connection. This episode explores masculinity, resilience, and hope—how one man remade his life, and what his journey reveals about the men raising families and running farms across rural Australia. Lifeline: 13 11 14Sober in the Country

11/16/2025

Father Land #5: Piers Dumaresq — Rebuilding After Divorce and Putting Fatherhood Before Farming

12 years ago, Piers Dumaresq walked away from the high-flying world of Sydney wealth management, to return home to the family farm in Tasmania with his future wife. On paper, it looked like a tree-change success story: a 200-year-old family farm, marriage, two children, and a future firmly rooted in the soil. But behind the original stone buildings of Mount Ireh, life wasn’t as simple on the family front. Piers’s marriage ended when his children were still little, and in the aftermath he found himself confronting not just the realities of co-parenting and running a farm, but the deeper question of who he was as a man and a father. He hit rock bottom, then rebuilt—choosing to put his kids first, reshaping the family business, and doing the hard personal work to heal. Today, Piers opens up about life on the land, fatherhood, the reason he believes so many marriages fail, and what it means to rebuild after loss while carrying a very big family legacy forward. This is his story. Get in touch with Pier's via https://divorce-recovery-guide.com/

11/16/2025

Father Land #4: Dolly’s Dad Tick Everett Speaks on Fatherhood, Family and Fighting On

Tick Everett is a man who never imagined he’d be the face of a national movement. For decades, he worked the land, raised his daughters, and built a life around family and farming. But in January 2018, that life changed forever. At just 14, Tick’s youngest daughter, Dolly, died by suicide after an extended period of bullying and cyberbullying. Soon after, Tick and his wife Kate launched Dolly’s Dream. Today's episode isn’t the story you’ve heard before. With honesty and vulnerability, he opens up in ways he never has before about love, loss, and what it means to keep going when your world has fallen apart. He reflects on resilience, fatherhood, the importance of men speaking up about their mental health, and why even the smallest acts of kindness can matter more than we’ll ever know. This is his story.

11/16/2025

Father Land #3: Ben Wundersitz — From Fat Farmers to Fit Fathers, A Movement Saving Rural Lives

12 years ago on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, three farmers looked in the mirror and didn’t like what they saw. So they founded Fat Farmers, a grassroots movement now inspiring rural communities to get moving, check in on each other, and quietly save lives. One of the founders is Ben Wundersitz, a fifth-generation farmer from Maitland, SA — a state still crippled by drought. Ben shares how those first awkward workouts grew into 35 groups nationwide, the mental health conversations that happen between reps, and what fatherhood means to him after raising two kids with his high-school sweetheart, Belinda. Last month, his impact was recognised when he was named the overall Bush Champion and Ag Champion at the inaugural Bush Champions awards. This is his story.

11/16/2025

Father Land #2: From Rock Bottom and Back — Stuart Austin on How Fatherhood Saved His Life

There was a day when Stuart Austin picked up the phone and called his wife, asking her to come home because he needed her. He wasn’t sick, and he wasn’t injured…but he was in a very dark place, and he knew he couldn’t get through it alone. Stu is a cattleman, entrepreneur, and father of three. His story stretches from long days on Northern Territory stations, working on ranches in Canada, 8 years as General Manager of Wilmot Cattle Co, and now, his own advisory business, Audacious Ag. But this conversation isn’t just about his career in ag. It’s about fatherhood, identity, the moments that nearly broke him — and the family and community who helped him through. From meeting his wife in the stock camp, navigating years of mental health struggles, and raising his beautiful kids, Stu’s story is very raw, honest, and full of lessons about what it means to be a farmer and a father.

11/16/2025

Father Land #1: NFF Vice President John Hassell on his journey through depression, succession & showing up as a dad

John Hassell has spent his life farming in Western Australia, raising three kids, and now spoiling grandkids. As Vice President of the National Farmers Federation, he’s fought for fairer outcomes for farmers and sparked deeper conversations about rural mental health. His drive comes from lived experience — grappling with succession pressures, crushing financial stress, and a battle with depression that once left him collapsed on the shearing shed floor. Behind his grit and humour is a raw story of struggle and resilience. In this conversation, John speaks more openly than ever about marriage, fatherhood, and the determination to show up for his kids, even in the hardest seasons

Father Land

Episodes

Father Land S2E3: John Murdoch on reaching breaking point, fatherhood & life after the fires

Father Land S2E2: Charlie Arnott on family legacy, finding himself & his extraordinary path to fatherhood

Father Land S2E1: Brendan Cullen on Facing His Demons, Fatherhood and the Swim of His Life

Introducing Father Land: A special series by Motherland

Father Land #8: AFL Legend Tom Hawkins on Grief, Footy, Farming and Fatherhood

Father Land #7: Facing Himself First: Dave Woods on Fatherhood & Challenging our Approach to Mental Health in the Bush

Father Land #6: Sobriety, Vulnerability & Masculinity on the Land with Matthew Tonkin

Father Land #5: Piers Dumaresq — Rebuilding After Divorce and Putting Fatherhood Before Farming

Father Land #4: Dolly’s Dad Tick Everett Speaks on Fatherhood, Family and Fighting On

Father Land #3: Ben Wundersitz — From Fat Farmers to Fit Fathers, A Movement Saving Rural Lives

Father Land #2: From Rock Bottom and Back — Stuart Austin on How Fatherhood Saved His Life

Father Land #1: NFF Vice President John Hassell on his journey through depression, succession & showing up as a dad

Trailer

Introducing Father Land: A special series by Motherland

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