Alina Hart

My husband and I are lucky enough to own a little piece of paradise in Western Queensland. We have a few hundred head of Santa x cattle on our place, about 65kms north of Blackall and I also run a custom baking business. Sam and I started our cattle journey in 2018 by leasing a property about an hour from town, not long after we moved out with no ties to the area, just a strong pull.

The year turned out to be one of the best and the worst years of our lives, one that we both know we would probably never have survived if it wasn’t for the fact we had the best neighbours south of Blackall. From “you give us a hand in the yards and we’ll lend you a paddock” to providing a bed and a hot meal when needed, there was no limit to the support that quite literally helped save us. Drought, rain, a wedding and a few years later, the dream really started to gear up. 2020 kicked off two of the best years on record, we were also fortunate enough to find a parcel of land that suited us perfectly and we became the proud owners of ‘Muttama’, which is now home to a few horses, a bunch of ducks, fourteen camels (just for fun) and a line of cattle we’re excited to put our name to, plus the best neighbours north of Blackall. Alongside this, I started a custom baking business the same year which (with huge support from the community) exploded and I now supply our local café as well as use social media to provide recipes and tips specifically tailored to the outback lifestyle. The baking gives me a way to give back to a community that has given us so much, it’s not exactly ‘city fancy’ but it’s a kind of bush fancy that we can’t get anywhere else.

Owning our own place has also given us the freedom to really lean into what works for us and we have been able to put a good focus on the regenerative ag model, it takes a bit of adapting out here but learning is half the fun. We’re also stoked to be able to share our love of what we do, any new nurse, doctor or teacher that shows half an interest gets a guided tour and meet-and-greet with every single poddy. People seem to have an idea that the outback is isolated, but when you’d happily drive a four hour round trip just for lunch with mates, it quickly becomes a very small community.

Even with our closest family 13 hours away, there’s no doubt that Blackall is home. If there’s one tip I can give that’ll take people from paddock to plate it that a Leatherman makes for a great cake knife at smoko, just don’t think about where it’s been.

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👉  This story excerpt is from Issue #18 of Kickin Up Dust magazine: December 2023.