In 2017 I was honoured to be an Australia Day Ambassador and invited out to a place called Carrathool, in the Riverina district of New South Wales. The people were amazing and the landscape was breathtaking. From the air, I got a whole new appreciation for the vastness of our country and the sheer magnitude of land that is used for farming and agriculture. Our farmers are absolutely vital to our everyday lives, and they work so incredibly hard and under extreme conditions a lot of the time. The stress these people deal with on a daily basis—financial, mental and health-wise—often goes largely unnoticed by mainstream Australia. Our farmers and their families are at the constant mercy of Mother Nature, large corporations, government bureaucracy and the rise and fall of the Australian dollar. They stake not only their livelihood every season, but also the fate of every single person who depends on buying food for their table. Buying Australian produce has a positive roll-on effect for employment not only in the rural communities, but across all of Australia, supporting trucking companies, truck drivers, produce stores, cafés, restaurants and more. We need to support our rural communities whenever and wherever we can, so I ask, if you see a way to help by buying Australian produce or donating to a trusted appeal to buy feed for animals, please do so.
A big thanks to my fellow authors and friends, Bramwell Connolly and Keith McArdle, who have always been there to help out and offer advice. Thank you to Anthony Moorhouse for allowing me to borrow his profession for Linc. You make me want to change my career so I can work for Dynamiq … although I’m not great with jungles … or hostile countries … or dealing with a crisis for that matter, so maybe I’ll just leave it to you guys!
To Karly’s Angels, the creative, amazing brainstorming gang who help me out with titles and names and a host of other things—thank you, guys!
Thanks also to Trevor Lynch, as well as John and Gloria Hunter, for their insight into Papua New Guinea.
Brent Parsons—what a guy! I was lucky enough to present this fella with an Australia Day award in 2017 for his part in organising a massive event in his community which brought thousands of people to the reopening of the local pub. He was also my go-to man for everything farming, although if there’s anything incorrect, it’ll be my doing—authors tend to bend a few rules now and again to suit the plot!
Thank you to the lovely Fiona Palmer, friend, question answerer and awesome author. Thank you for your support and friendship over the years.
Lyn Mattick, friend, sister, brainstormer and organiser—thank you for everything you do for me, and a huge thanks as usual to my husband, parents, kids, brothers, aunties, uncles and cousins who all continue to support me through this incredible journey. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people.
Thank you to everyone I met during my time out in Rankins Springs, Carrathool and surrounding areas. It was such a huge honour to be part of your Australia Day celebrations and I will forever be grateful for the lovely friendships I came away with.
If you or someone you know has recently left the military and needs somewhere to turn, please contact Soldier On: www.soldieron.org.au.